Chapter 36: Different Sides

Corrine

     I blink.
     Peter stands in front of me, smiling. “Damn, I do good work,” he says, looking at me a little too much.

     I look at my hands. They’re a little smaller, and the scars are gone. Pulling a bit of my sleeve up, I see my arms are much less hairy. I look down, and some of my hair falls from my back over my shoulder. I have breasts. I move my legs a little. I have… girlie bits.
     Peter interrupts my personal inventory, “So what do you think?”
     I stagger from one thought to the next. No way this is real. Is this what I really wanted? What is Orion going to think? Is this real? What am I supposed to do now?

     I clench my fist. I’m still pretty muscular, at least. Although, I may need to focus more on agility and evasion.

     “Are you seriously wondering what kind of SOLDIER you’ll be?” Peter asks, raising his voice some.
     I scowl. “What? It’s what I know.” My voice is a little different, too.
     Zuri has walked over. “A woman can’t be a soldier? You weren’t paying much attention, then. The Skeeves had many women as fighters.”

     I put my hand up. “All right, all right. Easy. I’m trying to come to terms. This is… instant.”
     Peter huffs. “But do you like it?”
     “Well, I haven’t got that far yet.” I look at him. “How long do I have?”

     He smirks. “You’re not going to change back at the stroke of twelve, Cinderella.”
     “I gather, but… are you going to disappear and not be able to change me back if…” if Orion hates me for this? I couldn’t bear him hating me.
     “I meant what I said. I give you my word. Not even my parents could stop me should you call out saying you’ve changed your mind.”
     “Right.” I stare at my hands some more. They’re so smooth. Are the scars on my face gone?
     Peter picks up a rock then transforms it into a hand mirror. “Here.”
     They are! “It’s like hitting a reset button.”
    “Why would I do all that work and give you imperfections? Not my style.” Peter folds his arms and watches me look at myself. I touch my face. It’s real. I touch my hair. It’s real, too. And longer: I guess more of that ‘why not’ reason.

     “Th-thank you?” I sputter out. “Well, I… I think.”
     He takes a deep breath. “Don’t rely on others to determine your self-worth.” I think he means don’t decide whether or not I like the change based upon how Orion will act. I can’t bloody help it.

Yadira

     “Niel!” I cry out, scolding him as he pulls me off Orion.
     He looks at me with absolutely no kindness in his eyes. “Go into the corridor.”

     “What?”
     “Now. I will drag you out there if I must.” He searches Orion and finds a key.
     I’ve not seen this side of him before. He’s always been patient, almost laughing at me sometimes, but then, there’s never been an escape attempt. “No. This is my friend.” What’s wrong with Niel? It’s like he’s afraid, maybe afraid of losing his job. If he would just give me a chance, I could explain it to him.
     Without any more warning, he grabs my arm and pulls me into the hallway.

    “Hey!” I cry out.
     He doesn’t respond, instead closing and locking the door behind him. “This way.” 

     A little more gently but still firm, he grasps my arm and pulls me down the hallway, around a turn or two, and down another hall. Then he knocks at a door. Two guards stand on either side of it, eyeing me in a way that makes me want to slap them.
    “Enter!” we hear from the other side. It’s Reck.

     We walk in, and he immediately stands from his desk the second he sees it’s us. “What’s happened?” He doesn’t miss how Niel holds my arm.
     “The Scotsman came alone.”
     Reck scowls and walks around his desk. “Where is he?” he asks him but looks at me.

     “Locked in her room.”
     Reck’s eyes travel around the room, thinking. “Four of you. Your pick. He’ll be ready for you so be prepared. Take him to the jail.”
     My mouth drops. “He hit his head. He could have a concussion!”
     He spares me a glance. “She’ll stay here.”
     “What are you going to do?” I demand.
     “Go,” he tells Niel, and after a quick bow, my guard leaves us. 

     As soon as the door closes, Reck’s eyes slash over to me. “Looks like the plan failed.” His nostrils flare. Making a too-obvious attempt at controlling a rising temper, he turns his back to me and walks over to the window. That calm that I’d previously sensed about him is gone, gone, gone. He’s a bundle of fierce emotions all fighting for dominance. I can’t get a specific read on him, meaning this has nothing to do with past events that I could fix.
     “I had no idea about this, so don’t even go there.” I fold my arms. “Orion came, yes, with intent to bring me home.”

    “THIS IS YOUR HOME!” he yells, making me jump. Then he closes his eyes and takes a breath. “Continue, please.” He turns back to the window with his hands behind his back, watching some of the goings-on of his city. He’s reminding me of the stories I heard from the others, about the monster. That yelling was totally uncalled for. Is he scared? Whatever it is, Orion being here is not my fault.

     I glare at him. I want to tell him where he can shove it, but I know Orion is in danger. It IS my fault that Orion got caught. I healed Niel too quickly. Perhaps if I can allay some possible fears, that would work out better for my friend. “As I said, he came to get me, but I told him no.”

     Derek exhales in a rush as he turns to me. He doesn’t breathe in again, his eyes wide. The room sits in frozen animation, waiting for one of us to speak.
     To spite the atmosphere in the room, I shrug and have a seat on the very nice sofa. I act casual when really I want to scream and hit him until he at least sends Orion on his way. I cross my legs and look at him. “I have work to do.” I bite my lip to stop the sadness from creeping in.
     “You told him no,” he repeats back to me, not having moved a muscle from his spot near the window. He blinks, forming I don’t know what conclusions in his mind. “You told him you’d rather stay here.”
     Whoa. Those aren’t the right conclusions. I have to set him straight right now. “No, I didn’t say that. I’d rather go back to being the old me and live on the island again, but that would be selfish.” My teeth and lower lip become reunited. It gets harder every second to maintain this calm facade.
     He walks over to me. “Which is it? Do you want to stay or go?” His wild eyes pierce into me. I almost wonder if he wants to shake me. I’m torn between telling him off and telling him what he wants to hear.

     I decide on a compromise. “If you’re using the word ‘want,’ I want to leave. As to what I’ll actually do, I’m staying.” I can’t look at him anymore, so I have no idea how he reacts to what I said.
     His voice oozes something nasty, a kind of a sarcasm but more, when he says, “Well, thank you, Lady Yadira, for your loyalty.” He paces to the door. “I’ll help them myself. I owe Orion a little something, after all.”

     I quickly stand, my heart racing. “What are you talking about?” He opens the door, and I rush over to it. “What are you doing?”
    “Stop her,” he casually tells his guard, and both men block the doorway after he exits it.
     “Reck! You bastard! What are you doing?” One of the guards shoves me hard, and I land roughly on my butt. He smirks and closes the door behind him. I hear the familiar click of a lock.

     I curl myself into a ball and cry. It’s all my fault.