Which witch?
Funny, you think. The voice said the sorceress world be with me, but then I got sent here. Looks more like I'm with the sorceress! Uh, assuming that is her of course. Maybe it's a greeting just like "The Force will be with you?"
"Are you the sorceress?" you ask carefully. Better not upset he if she is as powerful as the name implies.
"That is one of my titles," she nods.
"Then what is your real name?"
"Tsk, tsk! That is for me to know and for you to find out. Can't just hand out vital information like that to anyone, you know. In fact you should be careful with your own name as well. That is my first advice to you: Be careful with your name."
"Thanks, I will." You decide to not introduce yourself then. "Maybe you can help me with something else? I seem to have been kidnapped and put into some mysterious mansion with a madman who wants to turn me into an animal for some reason."
The sorceress is wearing a long hooded cloak. Now she pulls the hood over her head, hiding her face completely, lowers her hands and lets the sleeves cover them. Her whole body seems to twist and shift under the cloak, then she raises a hand, and as the sleeve slides back you see the hand has turned black and furry. "Like this?" she asks in a sharp voice as she pulls back the hood to reveal the face of - a fox!
With a scream of surprise you backpedal furiously until you slam into the door and collapse on the floor. "Oh dear," the foxeress say apologetically. "I am sorry.
Are you afraid of foxes?"
"Not in particular," you squeak. "You just surprised me!"
"Allow me to repair my error. What animal do you fear the least?"
"Uh, dunno. Hamster?"
She repeats the trick with the hood and sleeves, and suddenly it's a hamster that stands before you. A five foot bipedal hamster, but a hamster nonetheless. You don't feel scared any more, in fact you feel safe and want to pet her, so you get to your feet and walk over.
The hamster sorceress is pretty cute close up and doesn't mind having her ears scritched, so you do that for a while as she stands there churring happily.
"Still afraid of me?"
"No."
"Maybe you would like to be a hamster yourself?"
"I think rather not. Where were we?"
"Madman wanting to turn you into an animal. The Keeper isn't very good at explaining things, is he?"
"Who?"
"Your 'madman'. Actually this isn't just a sick game put on to amuse some madman. It's to save the world."
"Save the world?"
"Yes."
"By turning me into an animal?"
"Did I stutter?"
You stand stroking the hamster lady's soft fur for a while as you try to make head or tail of the situation. She speaks again:
"The unclassified details are rather hazy, but there is a big war coming. The mansion is part of your training for it."
"I don't remember volunteering to fight a war."
"Of course not, silly. Your parents volunteered you. It's like an arranged marriage, only you go to war instead of getting married."
"Fight a war instead of getting married?! Woohoo, aren't I the lucky one? Do I get to donate a kidney as well? By the way, that was sarcasm."
Written by Won-Tolla on 31 May 2007
The end (for now)