The Changeling Princess

by Jackie Shirley

  “Yuk,” said Wade. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “Poor little Wade. First it was exploding Warlocks, now it dragons eating dead bodies.”

  “Okay, so I’ve got a weak stomach. What do we do now?”

  “I think we should alter our appearance to blend in with the natives. Let’s start with a look that resembles the helpers on the cart. It’s time to turn visible and get to work.”

  We changed the color of our skin to a light grey. Then we made our ears and necks a little longer. “Not bad, not bad,” Wade said as he looked me over. “I wonder if they have any beauty contests on this planet.”

  “Only you would come up with something like that. Did your senses tell you the three smaller men were not Demons?”

  “Yes. That tells us this planet in not composed entirely of Demons.”

  “None of the creatures were human, but there are a lot of similarities. Maybe we all came from the same family tree.”

  Wade laughed. “I guess you could say the family tree is a little wacky on this planet.”

  “Wacky to us, but not to the folks who live here.”

  Wade turned serious. “I have a suggestion.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I think we should fashion a belt and a sheath for our swords. If we approach anyone holding our swords, they’ll assume we’re threatening them.

  “Jeez, Wade, I never thought of that. Do you think you can manufacture a belt and sheath for your sword?”

  “I don’t think so. I still need a lot of practice making things.

  “No problem, I’ll get right to work on that myself.”

  It took me ten minutes to shape a pair of belts and sheaths. I figured we’d have to buy some clothes. It was unlikely we’d run into anyone on this planet who wore jeans and tennis shoes.

  We decided to walk to the castle because we needed time to learn about our new environment. We were newcomers here and we had a lot to learn.

  I spotted what looked like a farmhouse with a drinking well in the front yard. We didn’t see anyone around, so we walked up the small road to the well and helped ourselves to the water. I was having a second cup of water when a couple approached us from the rear of the farmhouse.

  “Friend,” they both said as they raised their left hand in the air. “My name Drog and this is mate, Zanza.”

  I decided this was their way of greeting us. I raised my left hand and said “Friend, my name is Janis.”

  Wade raised his left hand. “Friend, my name is Wade.”

  Drog and Zanza were both about six feet tall and looked unusually strong. I assumed they were farmers who worked in the fields all day. I sensed immediately they had a gentle nature.

  “I see shields and swords. You here for games?” Drog asked.

  “Yes we are,” I replied. “We are from the land of Charlotte and we are strangers in this area.”

  “Then you eat with us,” Zanza said.

  Wade raised an eyebrow and looked at me. We were both hungry, but we didn’t have the slightest idea what kind of food these people ate. It was going to be an interesting experience.

  Drog led Wade and I around to the back of the farm house while Zanza prepared the meal. I was impressed with the large bundles of vegetables that had been stacked up in the back yard. I estimated there was enough food to fill twenty of those horse drawn carts we had seen earlier.

  “Today pickup day,” Drog explained. “We are paid, then food go to Castle Town. This is way of life for thousands of years.”

  Drog used the term “thousands,” but I had no way of knowing how they measured time.

  We followed Drog out into the nearby field. I didn’t know much about farming, but looking over the area, it appeared they grew several different crops. It was then that I noticed the cracks in the ground. That told me the weather had been extremely dry.

  “It appears it hasn’t rained much lately,” I said. Drog looked puzzled until I pointed to the cracks in the ground.

  “We need sprinkles for crops. We are waiting.”

  I nodded my head. “I hope sprinkles come soon.”

  “Eats are ready,” Zanza yelled out the back door. Wade looked at me and grinned. I was looking forward to my first meal in a parallel universe.

  I was stunned when I saw the large assortment of food that Zanza had prepared. There was a large platter of ribs, a plate containing what appeared to be four huge roasted chicken breasts, and two dishes of mashed potatoes. Aside from the baked bread, I also spotted strawberries and blueberries.

  It was obvious that Drog and Zanza were big eaters, so Wade and I felt right at home. The grin on Wade’s face reminded me of a little boy who discovered his first toy under the Christmas tree.

  Zanza passed the ribs to Wade. “Ribs?” she asked.

  Wade took a large slab and passed the plate to me. I had no idea what the sauce was made from, but the ribs were delicious.

  “Taters,” Zanza said as she passed the bowl to Wade. Wade smiled and dished a large portion onto his plate before passing the bowl to me.

  “Butter,” Zanza said as she passed the bowl to Wade. Wade smiled again as he took a large helping of butter.

  “Do you make your own butter,” I asked.

  “We have butter bees,” said Drog. “They make better butter than animals.”

  “That is good,” I said.

  The last item of meat was the roasted chicken. I had to admit that my taste buds came to life when I tasted the chicken. “

  “How you like dragon breast?” Zanza asked, looking pleased that I was enjoying her cooking.

  I cleared my throat and smiled. “It’s delicious, absolutely delicious.”

  Wade looked startled as he dropped the dragon breast onto his plate.

  “Is dragon breast not fresh enough for you, Wade? We killed dragons just yesterday.”

  “Are these the dragons that eat the dead bodies?” he asked.

  “No, no, no,” said Zanza. “The dragons I cook only eat berries. The dragons you speak of are flesh eaters. Flesh eaters covered with white spots. No good to eat, no, no.”

  Wade smiled and picked up his dragon breast. “I agree with Janis. These dragon breasts are delicious and you are a wonderful cook.”

  When we finished with the main meal, the blueberries and red berries were passed around the table. The red berries were strawberries and they were the best I had ever tasted.

  Zanza was cheerful as she spoke. “I cannot believe how much you eat, Janis. You are such small woman. What you do in this place called Charlotte?”

  “I make clothes.”

  “You make clothes you wear? They strange to me.”

  “Yes I did. I made Wade’s clothes, too. We will buy new clothes when we reach Castle Town.”

  “No need buy clothes. We have many.”

  Zanza jumped up from the table and left the room. When she returned, she was carrying two robes, similar to the one she and Drog were wearing. “This fit you, Janis. It belonged to my Zelda when she was little.”

  I tried on the robe and it fit perfectly. It even had a hood to protect me from the afternoon Sun. Wade’s robe fit perfectly too.

  “We cannot pay you,” I said.

  “No pay,” said Drog. “We are friends.”

  “In Charlotte, we are called ‘citizens.’ What are you called?”

  “We are Rens,” Zanza answered.

  “What about Castle Town?”

  “Most Rens live in Castle Town, along with Torks and Demons.”

  “What are Torks?”

  “Torks are darker and taller. We have Tork friends, but not many.”

  “What about the Demons?”

  “Demons bigger and meaner than Torks. Demons rule Castle Town. Demons run everything.”

  “I’m curious how you measure time,” I said. “What kind of numbers do you use?”

  “Is simple. Sun rises, moves across sky, then goes down. When Sun rises again, that is one go-around.�
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  “What you call a go-around, we call a day. Please go on.”

  “Ten go-around is one week. Ten weeks is one month and ten months is one year.”

  What I just heard was like the European metric system where everything is divisible by ten. Using Zanza’s method of counting, a week is ten days, a month is a hundred days and a year is a thousand days. A year on this world is equal to two and three-quarter years on Earth. A thousand years in this universe is close to three thousand years on Earth.

  I picked up the sound of horse drawn carts moving toward the farm house. “Picker uppers are here,” said Drog. “We get paid.”

  Wade and I stayed in the back ground as the Demon leading the carts got down off his horse. “Good crop. Gorbra will be pleased,” the Demon said as he walked up to Drog and Zanza.

  “More crops when sprinkles come,” said Drog.

  It only took an hour for the crops to be loaded because there were so many helpers. I assumed the helpers were Torks. They were about six and a half feet tall, very muscular and they had darker skin. I wondered if there were any small people on this planet. At five-foot five, I felt like a midget.

  The Demon entered the house and placed twenty bags of coins on the table. When the Demon emptied one of the bags, the yellow coins were slightly larger than a quarter. Each coin had a large “O” stamped in the center. I knew at once they were made of gold.

  “Each bag has seventy-five coins,” the Demon said. “Payment for food is fifteen hundred oms.”

  “This is correct,” Drog said.

  The Demon was wearing an evil grin as he picked up a bag of coins and placed it in his vest pocket. “This is charge to deliver crops to Castle Town.”

  “That not right,” Zanza said angrily.

  The Demon snarled. “Is right if I say so. You want me tell Gorbra you complain about payment?”

  Zanza lowered her head. “No, we not complain.” The Demon was laughing as he walked out the door.

  “That Demon stole money from you,” I said.

  “They always steal,” said Drog. “If we not complain, they take two bags next time.”

  “Not all bags will have seventy-five coins,” said Zanza. “Demons always cheat us.”

  I was enraged as I watched the Demon mount his horse to lead the caravan back to Castle Town. You’re not going to get away with stealing that money, I said to myself.

  We said our goodbyes and left the house. As soon as we reached the road to Castle Town, Wade stopped and turned to me. “The Rens were nice to us. I think we should be nice to them.”

  Wade looked upward and the sky over the farmer’s crops turned dark. I heard a small rumble of thunder and watched as the rain began falling gently to the ground. This was a light rain that would not damage the new crops. Drog and Zanza came running out of the house. They jumped up and down, throwing their arms in the air as they laughed. I was happy for both of them.

  “You should keep up the sprinkles for at least an hour,” I said.

  “I love the way you’ve picked up the language. An hour of sprinkles and the ground will be completely soaked.”

  “While you’re doing that, I’m going to catch up with the Demon that stole Drog’s money. I’ll be right back.”

  I made myself invisible and flew toward the Demon. I got right in front of his horse’s nose and flashed my face for a split second. The horse was startled and it bolted upright. The Demon was thrown off the horse and I was right beside him. I slid my hand into his vest pocket and grabbed the bag of coins. I hoped the Demon wouldn’t miss the coins until he reached Castle Town. I wanted him to think he’d lost the bag of coins when he fell off his horse.

  I morphed into a Mist and drifted into the farmhouse. When I materialized, I realized I was holding two bags of coins. I counted seventy-five coins in the larger bag and fifty coins in the smaller bag. I stuck the smaller bag in my pocket and left the larger bag for Drog and Zanza.

  “Did you have any luck getting Drog’s money back?” Wade asked when I returned.

  “Yes, I returned the stolen money to Drog and picked up an extra fifty coins in the process. Now I’m the one who’s the thief.”

  “I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

  “You must have morphed into a Mist when you returned to the farmhouse.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “Because you’re not wet.”

  “Remind me not to try to put anything over on you, Wade. You notice everything.”

  CHAPTER 53

  Entering Castle Town reminded me of the King Arthur movies I’d watched on television. The cobblestone streets were filled with shoppers and the merchants had their goods displayed openly on both sides of the road. It seemed strange that this planet was a thousand years in Earth’s past. I found Castle Town to be utterly fascinating.

  “I think we should buy some boots,” I said. “Our shoes look completely out of place.”

  “Good idea. I hope they’ll be comfortable.”

  We finally came upon what looked like a cobbler’s shop. I picked up a boot and examined it. “This is animal skin,” I said, “and very, very soft.”

  An elderly man approached us wearing a smile. I sensed he was a Ren. “Friend,” I said as I held up my left hand. Wade did the same.

  “Friend,” he replied with a smile. “You need boots?”

  “Yes, we both need boots.”

  The man took out a long flat board with markings on the sides and ends. He had me place my foot on the board and measured the size of my foot. “I have perfect boot for you. Very, very soft.”

  I tried on the boots and walked around the shop. “How much?”

  The cobbler held up two fingers with the forefinger bent at the knuckle. “One and one half ohms.”

  Wades had his foot measured and the cobbler returned with another pair of boots. “These are comfortable,” said Wade, “and the inside is lined with fur.”

  I reached into my coin pouch and handed the cobbler three gold coins. “This is correct?”

  “Correct,” he said as he held out his hand to receive the coins.

  “How do you make change for one half ohm?” I asked. The cobbler held out a coin that had been cut in half. “I guess that beats making two different coins,” I whispered to Wade.

  We wondered down the street taking in the sights. I saw a sign posted on a small tree advertising the games.

  FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TORKS

  GORBRA BIRTHDAY - HIGH SUN

  TEN WINNERS - FIVE MALE - FIVE FEMALE

  WINNERS GET 100 OHMS

  PRICE TO WATCH - ONE HALF OHM

  “Are we going to enter?” Wade asked.

  “I don’t think so. With our special abilities, it wouldn’t be fair.”

  Wade shrugged his shoulders. “You’re right, but I assume we’re going to watch.”

  “I think we should. I sense the crystal is inside the walls of the castle.”

  “Maybe we should morph into Mists and investigate.”

  “Not until we learn more about the culture.”

  “It’s a good thing there’s a contest taking place. We’d look completely out of place carrying our shields around.”

  “That’s a good point, Wade. Everyone will think we’re here to enter the games.”

  “Judging from how tall everyone is, you’d have to compete in the children’s division.”

  “You’ve been dying to tease me about my height ever since we got here.”

  “That’s not true. I’m getting you back for teasing me about the dragons eating the dead bodies.”

  “You’re right, I had it coming. I won’t tease you anymore.”

  “I don’t really mind. Besides, you wouldn’t be Janis if you didn’t tease me once in a while. That’s what kid sisters are for.”

  “Kid sister! Now you’ve gone too far.”

  Wade was laughing as he picked up the pace and walked ahead of me. I
n all honesty, I couldn’t get mad at Wade if I wanted to. He was really special to me.

  We were walking around town when we came upon a vendor advertising Witches’ Spells. The woman, who was wearing a black robe and a tall pointed hat, looked ridiculous.

  “We’ve got to check this place out,” said Wade.

  We stopped and looked at the bottles containing the Witches’ Spells. “This is love potion,” the Witch said as she picked up a bottle and gave Wade a whiff of it.

  Smells like perfume, I heard Wade say to himself.

  Maybe she’s one of your ancestors, I joked.

  Funny, funny.

  The Witch picked up another bottle. “This spell makes people do your bidding. Price is only two ohms. Real bargain.”

  Wade shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Don’t be in rush to make up mind. Maybe I drop price. I like to help people.”

  I’m going to be sick, I heard Wade say.

  “Where you from?” she asked.

  “We’re from Charlotte,” Wade answered.

  “I never hear of Charlotte. Is far away?”

  “Yes,” Wade answered. “Many, many sunsets.”

  “How many sunsets?”

  “About a thousand,” Wade answered.

  “That impossible. You walk off edge of world.”

  “Are you saying that the world is flat?” Wade asked.

  “Of course, everyone know that. You think I am fool?”

  I chimed in. “Wade, where do you think the saying came from, ‘traveling to the four corners of the Earth.’”

  “That right,” said the Witch lady. “If world is round, everyone fall off.”

  “Thank you for showing me your spells,” Wade said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me out onto the street. “What’s with the ‘four corners’ line you came up with, Janis?”

  “That’s an old joke I heard someone say on television. I thought it fit the occasion. You should have seen the look on your face.”

  “You’re such a tease,” Janis.

  “Maybe now we know where the first Witches came from.”

  Wade acted like he was going to smack me, so I took off running. When Wade caught up to me, he wrapped his arms around me and we laughed ourselves silly.