by Moshe Harel
“I checked him to the best of my ability, penetrating his illusions and seeing him as he really is. He admired my ability but didn’t seem upset about it. He sounded sincere to me. Besides, meeting him here, on Earth, gives us the advantage. I believe you should meet him.”
“And you probably agree,” she said to Brian, more as stating a fact.
“I wouldn’t recommend it, had I suspected there was any danger. Besides, he seems to like meeting in nice restaurants. At worst, you’ll only get a good meal.”
It only took a short discussion to agree on the date and time. I called Gor on the phone. My call was redirected to his message box, and I left a message with the time and date of the proposed meeting, as well as the suggested location. I knew I was making some kind of history, but it didn’t feel any different than setting any meeting. Gran then kissed us and went back to her place. We shrugged the politics off and returned to our studies.
28 Birth
I let Gran handle the politics, while Brian and I returned to our student lives, putting everything else aside, at least for a while. We needed to get good grades and I was becoming heavier and clumsier every day, yet I felt happy, living a normal life for a young woman.
I was practically homebound at this stage. Although Gran had assured me that the baby would not be harmed even if I transformed or changed my size, I felt reluctant to do that. Besides, I felt so heavy with the advanced pregnancy and so clumsy, that I couldn’t even consider flying, and visiting Avalon without being able to fly seemed a waste of time. Whatever I needed from Avalon, Brian and Ella were happy to bring to me. I got enough books from the Fairy Palace to keep me occupied and some from the elfin archives as well, and I was still trying for the highest scores in class.
And suddenly, it was time. I was awakened during the night when the first contraction came. It wasn’t too bad, really, and I wasn’t sleeping too well for several weeks by then, as my big belly was making it quite difficult to feel comfortable, no matter what position I tried. Still, I didn’t think it was worth waking Brian for. I also knew that many women experience some mild contractions several weeks before delivery. I changed my position and tried to fall asleep again.
The next time I woke up, I was feeling like I was sleeping in a puddle. It took me a moment to understand that my water broke. It was now delivery time in earnest.
The wet bed awakened Brian as well and he turned to look at me just as another contraction started. Unlike the first, this one was quite painful. Brian saw my face contort and understood without words. He quickly got dressed and then helped me out of bed and into some comfortable clothes. Ten minutes later, we were on our way to the maternity ward.
Gran was already waiting there for us. Brian had sent her a mind message as soon as he understood the situation and Gran felt like she needed to be at my side. I was very glad to see her. I was only sorry she didn’t bring Mom along, as I felt like I needed her comforting presence even more. Gran was fun, and I knew I could trust her with everything, but she could never give me the comfort that I could get by resting my head on mom’s chest.
As expected, Gran handled all the bureaucracy, sparing me and Brian that hassle. I was then taken for a medical checkup. By the time it was over, Mom was already present. Gran smiled at me as Mom came forward to hug me and comfort me. That was all I really needed at that moment. With Brian, Mom, and Gran at my side, I felt that it was all going to be just fine.
It still took about three hours and quite a bit of pain. Gran and Brian used some magic to reduce my pains, as I refused to take any of the pain relievers offered by the medical staff. I was rewarded by bringing a very lively daughter, who could immediately open her eyes and look around, and once put on my chest, she clamped on and suckled all that I could give her, looking at me all the time. I felt like we were bonding much deeper than any other mother and child. As Brian sat closest to me, she also looked at him almost as much. It was clear to me that Brian was also bonding with her.
When she was finally satisfied, yawning closing her eyes, one of the nurses took her from me and put her in a little crib. Brian went with her, not willing to let her pass her medical checkup alone, while Mom and Gran stayed with me until I expelled the afterbirth. I knew that Gran was also using some magic to help me recuperate much faster, but I was already too exhausted to mind. I just fell asleep.
I woke up to a kiss. Brian was kissing me tenderly, yet I ached too much to properly respond. He smiled at me. “Wake up, beautiful. Your daughter seems to be hungry.”
I looked around, noticing that I had been moved to another room while asleep. Once awake, I was also becoming acutely aware of some pains. My womb and all the passage out of it were hurting badly, and I felt I could barely move. My grimace seemed to urge Brian to action. He moved his hand over the aching areas and the pains subsided. I still hurt, but it was no worse than the feeling after an intense physical exercise. With my pains under control, I felt eager to take my daughter in my arms and to let her suckle as much as she wanted.
I returned home two days later. We didn’t dare use magic to travel with such a young baby. Besides, I really wanted to experience this the regular way, dressing the baby for her first exposure to outside conditions, attracting all eyes to our little bundle of life and looking like a proud, although tired and still a bit hurting, mother.
I didn’t know it then, but my fairy magic also helped me after giving birth. While other women may take weeks to feel well and much longer to regain their figure, I felt no pains within a week and turned as slim as before within a month. Some of my friends envied me and asked what kind of diet helped me regain my figure so quickly. They were disappointed when I said I did nothing, suspecting I was keeping it a secret for some reason.
Well, it was a secret, but for a very good reason. I couldn’t really tell them it was my fairy magic in play, not even consciously directed by me. I suspected it was my magic making sure I was fit to fly as soon as possible. After all, flying was necessary for survival in fairy form.
The elven book about the different occupants of Avalon, past, and present, was an eye-opener for me. Due to the elves’ very long lifespan, the writers were able to observe many of the changes that no member of another species could. According to that book, the elves were the closest to the original ancestor, keeping both size and looks, yet by opting to live indefinitely, they had to lose their ability to transform or use most kinds of magic on themselves. As life is magic in its own right, they tend to use as little as possible in their regular course of life, although they can prove very powerful when the need arises.
The giants were another faction that gave up most of its magic to gain size and physical power. This had probably been their undoing, as they tended to rely on brute force to solve any dispute or problem, which proved to be not a very wise way of thinking. There was no direct evidence of them becoming extinct, yet none had been seen for many generations (excluding our own transition into giants when saving Gran).
There were several winged species, each having its own quirk on the idea. The vampires opted for bat-like wings, as these are the only form of wings among mammals. Despite the legends, their lifespan was about the same as humans and they only needed to suck some blood for impregnation, and rarely more than what one would give for a medical blood test. They only left Avalon for that, returning as soon as they could. Their victims didn’t usually feel any pain and stayed completely unaware of the event, except for some light tingling that passed within a day or two.
Angels were another winged group. They opted for bird-like wings, that were certainly more impressive and could give them much better flying abilities, had they developed some muscles to really use them, yet they relied mainly on magic for flying and were quite mischievous with humans, playing pranks on them, yet trying to cause no permanent harm. They even helped some back to health, when they felt they’d gone a bit too far.
The demons took this tendency to the extreme, causing all the legends,
although they were just a subgroup of angels. Both groups, just like vampires, could barely transform and rarely did it, although they could easily travel between Earth and Avalon. They preferred to use illusions and disguises when they wanted to look human.
Then there were the fairies and the pixies, who opted for insect-like wings and very small size. In a way, this size enhanced their magical abilities, although most were unaware of it or unable to gain true control of their powers.
Actually, more groups opted for small sizes. The dwarfs, the hobbits, the goblins, and the gnomes. They all had a special connection to the ground, for mining (dwarfs), hiding (goblins), raising crops (hobbits), or just eating whatever was there (gnomes). This connection had cost them some of their magic, or even most of it, yet they gained physical strength that more than compensated for that in their daily lives. A faction of goblins (although some think they originated from elves) became too quarrelsome for even their comrades to accept them, turning eventually into orcs—a kind of ugly, hateful creatures who were only good for fights. This change also made them lose most of their remaining magic.
I was quite surprised to find another “species” mentioned—Wizards and Witches. These were actually the descendants of some elves who transformed, trying to escape battles or wars and lost their ability to return. Just like the Fairies, those who mingled with humans made their magic hide, surfacing only occasionally, unless they kept marrying other descendants of that same group, an option that seemed to not be available to Fairies until recently.
After having used my magic to change shape and size at will, I wondered if I could change into some of these beings, and what changing into them could mean. Would I become blood-thirsty if I turned into a vampire? I didn’t feel meaner when becoming a giant, although it really seemed easy to solve everything using physical power, while in that shape.
I had some time for myself a few days later, after I bathed and fed my daughter. I passed in front of the large mirror and remembered what I had been wondering about. I then thought ‘Wings!’ and immediately changed into my fairy form, as usual. I thought of feathery wings next. My body changed, regaining human proportions, as my transparent wings gained substance and changed form, looking like white eagle wings. They also felt much heavier, and I felt some muscles grow to compensate for the additional weight. My face also changed, losing the pointed ears and looking almost normal. There were some subtle differences, but I couldn’t pinpoint them. Although quite more impressive than a fairy, I didn’t particularly like this form. I then thought of bat-like wings and long fangs, turning myself into a vampire. My body turned thinner and my complexion darker. Two long fangs came out of my mouth, my lips seemed much redder (although you wouldn’t know, as women use all kinds of lipstick) and my nose seemed a bit sharper. I looked quite impressive that way and I thought I was also sexier, yet I seemed to lose most of my urge to copulate. I didn’t care much for those wings either. They were useful—I tried flying with them just as I had tried the angel wings a bit earlier—but they looked creepy.
Just for the fun, I wondered what looking like a goblin would feel. My body shrank quickly, yet not proportionally. The goblin in the mirror had larger breasts and a wider body that was also very muscular. My hands changed proportions as well, now sporting very long fingers with sharp claws, and all my teeth became very sharp fangs. My face became bonier, but I was still recognizable. I wondered if I could visit the goblin palace in this form without attracting attention. I would probably need to get dressed first . . . Some goblin-style clothes appeared on my body. A short concentration added some leather armor and a short sword. I now looked like a regular female goblin warrior.
Brian stepped in and was alarmed by the warrior standing so close to his daughter. I quickly transformed back into my human form, losing my clothes on the way. This had the desired effect on Brian. He lost his worried expression, only to gain a very lusty one, complementing what I felt at seeing him. He quickly cast the shrinking spell, making me aware of his intentions. A moment later, we were both flying in our fairy form, copulating several times in the air before we landed on our bed, returned to our human form, and continued with that very pleasurable activity.
Some time later, when I had to breastfeed, we talked about what I had tried before he came in. Brian was very interested in the changes and wanted to learn them all. I wasn’t quite able to teach him though, not with a tiny baby nursing in my lap.
We tried again later. I showed Brian all the forms I had been trying earlier. “You really are a formidable fairy!” he told me.
“I don’t think so. You are about as powerful as I am. It’s only my imagination and my curiosity that are different,” I told him.
I still tried to teach him. He had no problem with some forms, specifically the elfin form, that we had already been using several times, and the goblin form—maybe because we had met Gor and he had seen through his illusion just as well as me. It was much more difficult for him to change to the other forms.
I wasn’t really bothered. I knew that in due time, Brian would master them all.
The following summer vacation wasn’t much different than the previous one. Gran assigned us the leading roles in another incarnation of the Fairy Club. This time, they were all girls, making Brian feel a bit apprehensive. “Just enjoy the views, when we need to be naked,” I told him.
“You know I’m only interested in you,” he reassured me.
I smiled knowingly. “You still enjoy watching naked young women, don’t you? And I really don’t mind, as it makes you hornier, once we have some alone time.”
Luckily, our baby didn’t need much attention by that time, and my sister was quite willing to babysit, staying in an adjacent room and playing with our daughter or just reading or watching television. As I kept breastfeeding, Brian shouldered much more than before, leading the club almost by himself. He didn’t really mind, though. He had gained confidence in his teaching ability and enjoyed teaching. I was quite willing to let him handle the bulk of it, helping as needed.
Being so busy, we had no time to dwell on anything except for our duties, which now included a bi-weekly meeting of the Elders, helping Gran with her Fairlady tasks.
Luckily, she also let us have a nice week-long vacation at a tropical resort, fully paid by her, in addition to paying us nicely for our roles in the club.
Too soon, the new term started and we immersed ourselves in studies. Gran used to pop in once in a while, to update us about the politics in Avalon and to play a bit with our little Tracey. She rarely requested our presence during the Elder meetings, considering our studies much more important at this stage.
29 Birthday surprise
Emily’s twelfth birthday came in the middle of the week. Because of our studies and our exams we could not return home for the weekends before or just after her birthday, but we could do it a week later, so Mom organized the family celebration for that weekend.
Emily, as always, was happy to see me, and was even more pleased to see my daughter, Tracey. The warm bond between them had been created almost from the beginning, and Tracey smiled and laughed at Emily even more than at me or at Brian.
With all the preparations and the guests, I was glad that Emily had been with Tracey, freeing me to help Mom with the preparations, with serving and then cleaning, although the rest of the family helped as well. Only Gran was not present. She had visited a week earlier and apologized for not being able to attend the family celebration. It seemed to me that it didn’t really matter to Emily. She was not as close to my Gran as I was.
After the mid-day celebration, when the guests began to gather by age and interest, I found myself sitting on the sofa next to Emily, with Tracey sleeping between us.
Emily looked very thoughtful, not at all like a birthday girl, and seemed older than her twelve years. “Is something bothering you?” I asked.
She smiled at me hesitantly. “Not exactly. I just wondered . . . Do you think it’s normal t
hat I keep thinking about sex?”
I was a little surprised by her question. It’s true that during adolescence one thinks a lot about sex, but she was still a little too young, wasn’t she? I formulated my answer carefully. “In adolescence, when hormones change us from children to adults, it’s natural that thoughts turn a lot in this direction, although it sounds a little early at your age. Why are you asking?”
I saw that she was contemplating her answer. After a moment she reached a decision. “It’s more than wandering thoughts. Even immediately after sex, I want another shag, although my partner can’t usually comply.”
This time I was really surprised. “Are you going to tell me you’re having sex? It’s way too early. Does Mom know?”
She shrugged. “Until two weeks ago, I did not even look at the boys, although I saw some of them trying to get my attention. They just did not interest me.”
Unlike me, Emily got her period by the age of eleven, and now she had a well-developed chest, much bigger than mine. It did not matter to me, if only because Brian loved me the way I was, but I knew that many adolescent boys (and older ones as well) were attracted to big breasts.
Emily went on talking. “And then, suddenly, I wanted very much to get intimate with boys, to feel them inside me. It’s like someone flipped a switch in my brain. It was irresistible. That day I slept with two, and since then I’ve had at least one each day. I’ve not told Mom yet. I don’t think she’ll like it.”
“Probably not. At least you’re using some precaution?”
She blushed. It was interesting that the precaution made her blush and not the sex. “Not exactly. When it’s over, I just take out everything that’s left inside, so there’s no chance of getting pregnant.”