Making Monster Girls 2: For Science!

by Eric Vall

  “What was it like?” Valerie asked. “Seeing her for the first time?”

  “I can’t be sure that it was her unless I ask her,” I grunted. “But I’m almost certain that it was. The eyes and the hair color were exactly the same. I was just a boy, still in the finishing school that they place all ‘brutes’ in, and they brought all of us out to watch.”

  “And?” the beautiful ash blonde whispered.

  “I… I thought she was beautiful,” I exhaled. “But she was the first girl my age that I’d ever seen. How else was I supposed to feel? I was constantly surrounded by old crones that reminded me of my lowly statues, and then… there she was, in her carriage with her regal mother.”

  “We don’t fault you for feeling that way, Charles,” Daisy soothed. “Though I don’t like to admit it, Edony is a striking and stunning woman.”

  “And she wears such pretty clothes!” Valerie cried. “And her jewelry, and hair! She always looks so well put together!”

  “That’s the richest aristocrat in town for you,” I chuckled.

  “Sometimes,” the cat-girl sighed. “I like to imagine what she’d look like as a monster-girl. I’m sure that Daisy and I look nothing like we did when we went into the machine, but I have this strange hope that when we finally take down Edony, and she comes out of the machine, she still looks the same.”

  “I’m not sure if I feel the same way,” I snorted.

  “Why not?” Valerie probed. “You don’t think she’s pretty?”

  “It’s not that I don’t find her attractive,” I told her. “If I were to transform her, and she came out of the compartment looking exactly as she does now, I don’t think I’d be able to keep her… when I look into Edony’s face, even if it were a transformed face, I wouldn’t be able to feel the same things I feel about the two of you. Edony… she’s done some terrible things to me over the past few months, and I don’t think I could ever look into her face, and feel… love or anything like it, and I want to be able to love all the women I make.”

  “I almost have to agree with Valerie, but for different reasons,” the bear-girl uttered. “If Edony were to come out of the compartment and look as she does now, it’s like… we’ve finally broken her spirit, like a wild horse broken in by her master. I would think of it that way, not that she’s done horrible things to all three of us, but we’ve completely conquered the beast of Edenhart.”

  “The beast of Edenhart…” I whispered. “I’ve never heard her referred to in that way… it’s almost strange to hear it. Most of the time, men are the ones that are called brutes, creatures, and beasts, but… that’s exactly what Edony is.”

  “We haven’t encountered many men yet,” Daisy stated. “But I’m sure that most of them, if not all of them, are better behaved than all of the aristocrats combined.”

  “It depends on which ones,” I exhaled. “It’s hard to admit, but a lot of the men in this town are only out to protect themselves, they don’t care about their fellow man.”

  “It’s a dog eat dog world,” Valerie murmured. “How sad.”

  “We learn from a very young age that no one is going to look out for us except ourselves and we stick to that for the rest of our lives,” I sighed. “Then some of us sign up to be consorts, thinking that it’ll give us some sort of protection from the outside world but… those women aren’t there to protect us, in most instances, they’re the abusers. Take Delphine, for instance, I was told by one of her manservants that three of her consorts were taken to the hospital. He never specified for what, but I can only assume from the way that Delphine treated me that she was the one who sent them there.”

  Daisy lowered her head, she stared at the ground, and kicked at the small rocks at her feet for a few seconds, but I crossed over to her, and lifted her chin with my pointer finger.

  “But don’t go thinking for a second that you, in any way, are like her,” I explained. “She was merely the vessel, the raw material, that I used to create you. You may have received some memories from her, but that doesn’t mean that her blood flows through your veins. You need to remind yourself that not only was she part of the creation, but so was the bear, and those memories are much better than the ones you received from Delphine.”

  “It’s difficult at times,” Daisy admitted. “But I’m trying not to let it get to me. I’m not her, nor do I think or behave like her. I hope to make the world better and more accepting than she did, and I will do that with your help, Charles… yours, too, Val. I hope beyond hope that what we’re doing can, in some way, change the world as we know it. I believe that there is a brighter future out there, where everyone is accepted, male and female.”

  “And monster-girl!” Valerie shouted. “Though… do you think we’ll be accepted once the world finds out about us?”

  “Well, I’d like to keep the two of you under wraps for as long as possible,” I mused. “But I’m not entirely sure… I would hope that you would be, but we can never know what will happen.”

  “I like to imagine that we’ll take over Edenhart, a little bit at a time,” Daisy pondered. “And eventually, there are no more aristocrats… just men and monster-girls, living in peace.”

  “But for how long?” I exhaled. “We can’t just take over the whole town without catching the attention of the capital.”

  “We’ll get there eventually,” Daisy smiled, climbed into the driver’s seat with Valerie, and then turned. “Don’t worry, Charles, it’ll all work out on its own. We’ve made it this far without anything going seriously wrong, I think we can manage until it's time to take over the whole town… and then the whole world.”

  “T-The whole world?” I stammered, shook my head, and then chuckled. “I think we’re going to need a bigger machine, then… I don’t think I can do that many experiments without it exploding.”

  “We’ll get there!” Valerie giggled. “And then we’ll never have to worry about the Duchess, or the Chief Constable again because they’ll be right here with us, fighting for our side!”

  “You’re right,” I smiled. “Alright, everything’s packed in, let’s get ready to go.”

  “We’re headed to the mine site, right?” Daisy asked.

  “Yes, I finished off the black powder for Lilliana and already sent that off to her,” I exhaled. “The ingredients for the mustard gas are brewing in a container in the laboratory, and I believe they should be done by the time we get back.”

  “What about the money from Lilliana?” Valerie squeezed between the two of us, slithered into the bed of the wagon, and spread out over our bags in the bright sunlight. “Will she send it to you directly or bring it to you herself? I’m so tired of hiding out in my own home…”

  “I know, my dear,” I nodded. “But we can’t simply slap a bonnet over your ears and hope that no one notices the long tail peeking out of the bottom of your dress. I think she’ll most likely bring it to me herself, you know how these aristocrats are… they love to be in your business.”

  “I do have to admit,” Daisy sighed. “Even as your Mistress, it does get tiring, having them showing up all of the time and bothering us. As an aristocrat, is it a common occurrence for people just to show up unannounced? Delphine’s memories always had them sending a letter requesting a visit first.”

  “No, it’s not normal for an aristocrat,” I told them, took the reins in my hands, and slapped them against the backs of the horses. “For a man, yes, they show up whenever they want, but for the women, you have to have a formal request. I believe since you’re new here, that’s why they’re showing up whenever they want to, but it should slow down since you’ve bought the manor and are Mistress of the house.”

  “I hope they stop very, very soon,” Valerie purred. “I’m tired of being locked in the house all the time… I want to explore! Climb the trees! Chase a few butterflies… maybe eat them, who knows?”

  “You shouldn’t eat butterflies,” I chuckled. “I don’t think they’d be very tasty.”

 
“I used to eat them all the time,” Valerie rolled over onto her stomach. “In my cat memories. They were hard to catch, but if you did, they were so, so tasty.”

  I glanced over at Daisy.

  The bear-girl giggled, placed a hand over her eyes, shook her head, and then glanced over her shoulder.

  “I used to eat a lot of honey as a bear,” the brunette stated. “But I don’t think I ever tried butterflies, I just liked to lay in the long grass and watch as they fluttered past.”

  “Don’t bears eat like… grubs and stuff like that?” the cat-girl giggled.

  “Yes,” Daisy sighed. “But that’s only when we’re preparing for hibernation. We need all the nutrients we can get before we slip into sweet slumber.”

  My women talked quietly to themselves while we rode down the hill toward town, but right as we reached the outskirts, I angled to reins right onto a side road, and left Edenhart in our dust. I didn’t know the exact location of Josephine’s mines, but the small, blonde aristocrat had given Daisy detailed directions in the folds of the long-winded letter. Daisy pulled the parchment out of her skirt pocket, unfolded it, and held it out in front of her face for a moment as she scanned the neat handwriting.

  “Josephine said that it’s about half a day’s drive to the mines,” the brunette uttered. “Once we get close, Valerie should activate her power.”

  “Sure, and then once it’s dark, no one will be able to see me!” the feline-woman cackled. “Then I’ll sneak into the worker’s tents and go through their things! Oh! I wonder what treasures I’ll find! Oooo, I could even go through Josephine’s tent, find out some dirt on her, and then bring it back to you, Charles.”

  “Honestly, I feel like Josephine is the least of our problems,” I smiled. “Though she’s an aristocrat, she’s still respectful and somewhat kind to me… unlike Lilliana and Adelia.”

  “They seemed just as nice to you as Josephine was,” Valerie contemplated. “What makes you think that?”

  “You can see it in their eyes when they look at me,” I uttered. “They look at me as if I were a gross worm crawling across the ground.”

  “I did notice that…” Daisy confirmed. “Josephine doesn’t really do that. Does she have consorts?”

  “I can only assume so,” I nodded. “But she seems much kinder than the rest, but we can’t underestimate her, she is still an aristocrat. You never know when they’ll fly off the handle or what will make them do it.”

  “Maybe it’s because she’s been losing so much money from the mines?” Valerie offered from the back. “Need can make you do a lot of things, even be nice to those that you normally would spit upon.”

  “Very insightful,” I chuckled. “What made you think of that, Val?”

  “Well, something like that happened to me once…” the beautiful ash blonde chirped. “I only know it did from my cat memories. One time, it was raining really hard, it rained for days and months on end, and I couldn’t find a single dry place to sleep or wait it out. So, I prowled around for a long time, soaking wet, and meowing, hoping that one of the women who lived on the street would open their doors and let me in.”

  “That must’ve been the monsoon that hit about a year back,” I nodded. “We’re pretty close to the shore, so it happens occasionally.”

  “So, I wandered around for a while until I found myself on the dock where all of the fish merchants sell their goods, but all of the stalls were closed,” Valerie went on. “And I was so relieved to finally find a dry place to lay underneath one of the stalls with a tarp covering it but… the only problem was a stray dog was sleeping under there already. When I came near, he barely lifted his head, only opened an eye and huffed in my direction.”

  “So, what did you do?” I asked.

  “There wasn’t really much that I could do,” the cat-girl explained. “I could either sit out in the rain… or snuggle up with my greatest enemy. The choice was clear.”

  “Stay out in the rain?” Daisy giggled.

  “No!” Valerie cried. “I mustered the courage, slunk over, a little bit at a time until I was right next to him, meowed to make sure he was sleeping, and then… snuggled up underneath his massive head. We slept for what seemed like hours, and when I woke up, the rain had stopped, and the dog was gone. My fur was all dry, and I scampered off back into the city.”

  “You were kind to your enemy,” I exhaled. “That’s very sweet of you, Val.”

  “I wouldn’t call it sweet,” the feline-woman breathed. “We both put aside our differences for a moment and helped each other out.”

  “So, you believe that’s what Josephine is doing now?” Daisy asked. “Being kind to an enemy to get what she wants?”

  “Maybe?” Valerie shrugged. “Or she could just be a nice lady who doesn’t follow the rules of Edenhart.”

  “I doubt that,” I shook my head. “All of these women have been trained since birth to believe that they’re better than men, there’s no way that she’s treating me this way merely out of kindness.”

  “Regardless,” Valerie grinned. “She’d still make a cute monster-girl, such pretty eyes! Like a cat! Almost like mine! Buuuut, no more cat-girls, just me!”

  “Val,” I tittered. “We can’t just go around, snatching women up, and turning them into monster-girls. We have to have solid reasons why we need to turn them, you understand that, right? I turned the female prisoner by accident, and I transformed Delphine to get away from Edony.”

  “I knoooow,” the feline-woman grumbled. “But if we need to… Josephine is always an option, I’d love to have her as my sister.”

  Valerie and Daisy spoke quietly to each other as we rolled down the small dirt-path. I leaned my head back, breathed in the fresh air, and let a small smile spread over my lips. The tree branches above my head stretched out the deeper we moved into the forest, and soon, they created an interlocking canopy over our heads. In the distance, I heard the soft calling of birds, and the rustling of bushes as small woodland creatures trundled about. It was a lovely day, and no one else seemed to be traveling in either direction, which meant we wouldn’t meet anyone on our way to the mines. I wanted nothing more than to enjoy this moment with the warm sunlight filtering through the trees, a soft breeze at my back, and my two women sitting close by.

  The letter that Daisy received from Josephine said that it’d take half a day to reach the mines, which meant that we’d get there by at least late afternoon or early evening. I had to admit, I didn’t mind the drive. It was quite peaceful out here with no interruptions from aristocrats or the Chief Constable. It seemed as if, only for a moment, our lives had finally found peace… I wasn’t sure how long the feeling would last, but I relished it as we rode deeper into the woodlands.

  “How close is the way station to the mines?” Valerie asked.

  “Less than three miles from the mines,” Daisy replied, pulled out a hand-drawn map that Josephine provided, and pointed down at the location. “Here.”

  “Charles?” the feline-woman called. “Are we going to switch out the letters before or after you fix the elevator?”

  “After,” I replied, and then nodded toward the brunette beside me. “It takes two days to reach the capital on a fast horse, but I doubt he’s going that fast. We also have to factor in the time it took for the Browning’s to write a reply and send it back, so the courier will most probably reach the way station after we finish the project. When Daisy went into town for the crest, she got some information on when and where the letter is being delivered. The courier bringing back the letter will be at the way station to rest tomorrow afternoon. After I finish with the elevator either tonight or tomorrow morning, we will go there and switch out the letters.”

  “Do you think it’ll be dangerous?” Val questioned.

  “Most likely, yes,” I grunted. “The letter will be protected heavily by the Duchess’ guards. The courier has the most dangerous job of all, he has to deliver important information to and from powerful aristocrats. He
could be ambushed by other women’s guards or even vagabonds along the road.”

  “So, that’s the reason for all the guards?” the cat-girl breathed. “You’d think he’d just be sending stupid letters back and forth, they’re not worth that much… definitely not worth killing someone for.”

  “Well, it depends on who’s sending the letter,” I explained. “Say, if it were a letter from the Queen, then they’d need the extra protection. If the information in those letters fell into the wrong hands, all hell would break loose.”

  “But does Edony really need guards for her letters?” Valerie huffed. “She may be the Duchess of Edenhart, but it’s not like she’s that special, she’s not the Queen.”

  “That may be true,” I confirmed. “But to Edenhart, Edony is their Queen, there is no ruler higher than her. The Queen only gets involved with small cities such as ours if there have been crimes committed that should receive capital punishment.”

  “What kind of crimes would warrant that?” Daisy asked.

  “Well, most of them are things committed by men against aristocrats,” I told them. “But the largest one… the worst of all is killing an aristocrat.”

  “But when you were arrested,” the stunning blonde broke in. “Edony was the one who was going to handle it, not the Queen.”

  “As we’ve suspected, Edony is going against the Queen’s wishes,” I breathed. “Maybe that’s the source of their hatred of one another. We know that the Chief Constable is here under the direct order of the Queen, but she’s taken to licking Edony’s boots instead.”

  “Ew!” Valerie cried.

  “Figuratively,” I chuckled. “She’s not actually licking Edony’s boots.”

  “I’m worried about Ortensia,” Daisy admitted. “She has such a strange interest in you… and it doesn’t seem good.”

  “I know,” I grunted. “She kept asking me about Milton and Delphine’s deaths like it wasn’t solved. We left no proof that we were there…”

  “Maybe they found something we missed?” Valerie gasped.