The door slammed heavily shut behind the guards as they made their exit, and Fina was left by herself as the man - woman? - person she loved was led off to a life of who-knew-what. In a way that was the worst part; Fina had almost been able to resign herself to the idea of being trapped in a marriage she didn't want, so long as she could think that "Gwen" would be by her side. But without that, what was there? It would be bad enough to be deprived of her company, but to think that what Burgos said was true, and the magic that had changed her even further would also lock away her lover's heart in the possession of someone else...!
Fina didn't know how long she laid on the bed, crying and berating herself for her carelessness. Gwen had known, Gwen had cautioned her, but she hadn't listened...it had almost seemed like a game, at the time, carrying on their affair under her father's nose, but in the end she had been playing with fire, only it was Gwen who had got burned. Why does she have to take the consequences of my gamble? she thought, moaning into her pillow. Even though the blame belonged most of all upon her selfish, manipulative father, Fina couldn't help but feel guilty for dragging her love into the situation. Yet she knew that, if Gwen were here, she wouldn't hesitate to reassure her that she'd give up her own life for Fina's sake...
She groaned. "I'd give anything to be with her again," she murmured to herself.
"Do you mean that?" came a voice from behind her.
Fina leapt to her feet, whirling around to find a strange figure standing in the center of the room. It was a woman, tall and slender with long silver hair - not gray with age, but lustrous and shining silver in its own right. She wore long, flowing, diaphanous robes that seemed to glow with their own inner light.
Fina stared at her, frowned, and thought for a moment, trying to understand how the woman could have entered without her hearing the heavy wooden door. "A-are you...my f-fairy g-godmother?" she ventured at last. It sounded silly and childish when she said it aloud, but there was little else she could think of as an explanation.
The woman smiled enigmatically. "I am neither a fairy nor your godmother, child. Let us say for the moment that I am someone who has owed a favor to your mother's family line for a very long time, and that this seems as good an opportunity to return it as any."
Her heart leapt. "Then...then you can help me? Please, if you can return Garret to himself, I'm sure he can get me out of here..."
The mysterious stranger shook her head sadly. "I cannot do anything for your lover, child. It is to your line alone that I owe my favor."
Fina felt saddened. If only she could've restored Garret to his original self...or even returned Gwen to the way she had been...but apparently even that was too much to hope for. But even now, if they could only be together again...she was sure that she could keep Gwen from losing herself to some man, if she only had the chance! "Then..." She paused, thinking carefully. "Then, if you can only help me...would you free me from here? Could you cause my father to leave me be?"
The woman thought for a moment, then gestured at the full-length mirror on the far wall. It shimmered and rippled for a moment, and suddenly it showed not the room, but a picture of a meadow somewhere. The woman turned to address her, a serious expression on her face. "If you step through the door that I have opened," she said, "you will be where your lover is."
Fina brightened. "A-and my father...?"
The woman shook her head. "I am not fond of him and his cruel ways, but I cannot change his heart," she said. "However, I can make you useless for his plans and allow you to win your lover's heart. But be warned, if you go through with this, there will be no returning to the comfortable life of a princess for you."
She felt taken aback at the thought. Garret, of course, knew how to cope without the comforts of the palace, but she had known nothing else her entire life. Could she really give that up? But then...what was this life but a prison? That very comfort was the thing that had kept her so effectively confined in her father's will for so long - and could she ever live with herself if she gave up Gwen to her fate in order to save herself from hardship?
Sighing, she did the best she could to steel her resolve. "I'll do it," she said. "I have no desire to spend my life as a tool for his ambitions."
The woman nodded. "Then step through the mirror, and it will be done. Farewell, princess. May your mother's line flourish through you and your lover."
Fina felt a moment of sadness at the irony of that - how could that happen now? - but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she went over to the mirror, took a deep breath, thought of reuniting with her love, and stepped through.
She tumbled out into the long grass and simply laid there for a moment. The cool morning breeze swept over her and rustled the folds of the nightdress that she'd slipped into while the guards were there. Fina stood up and dusted herself off, looking back behind her to find that the strange doorway that had brought her here had already vanished.
She wondered what the woman had meant by "making her useless" for her father's plans. She didn't feel any different...did she? She saw a pond nearby and carefully made her way over to the water's edge, feeling the dewy grass under her feet. Yes, that was her own reflection looking back at her; she had almost expected to find herself changed into a peasant girl, or something like that. But if the mysterious woman had been true to her word in helping her escape, surely she must have made some change that would free her from a life as her father's political pawn as well...
Fina looked around, taking in the scenery. She wasn't exactly sure where she was - the meadow looked much like the countryside surrounding her father's castle, but she had never been outside long enough to known the land very well. What she did notice, however, was that the meadow led up to a road, and standing at the roadside was the figure of a woman...
She forgot herself completely and ran headlong up to the road, paying no mind to any of the small stones, protruding roots, or other things that occasionally caused her to stumble. Her feet were dirty and scraped-up by the time she reached the woman, but she didn't care at all. Fina flung herself at the transformed Gwen, wrapping her arms around the surprised woman and crying happily. It took only a brief moment before her embrace was returned.
When the surprise of the unexpected reunion had worn off, Gwen held her at arm's length and looked her up and down in amazement, tears of joy streaming down her face. "But...but Fina," she said, "how on Earth did you escape the palace by yourself?"
They sat down together in the grass and Fina explained about the visitation from the stranger. Gwen shook her head in amazement. "I've heard stranger tales in my time," she said, "but I would never have guessed that you'd be part of such a thing, Fina."
The erstwhile princess smiled. "In all my life I never heard my mother speak of such a person. But...oh, it doesn't matter, just so long as I can be with you again, Gwen! I couldn't bear the thought of losing you to some man..."
A sober expression came over Gwen's face. "Indeed. I...I want to believe I could never betray you, but...this body's desires...they're so unfamiliar to me..." Even as she said this, her voice was growing husky and her expression dreamy. Fina even felt herself being affected by the heightened sexuality of Gwen's new form. She shushed her gently with a finger to her lips, and then with a kiss. "It's alright," she said, smiling mischievously. "I can help you with that...and the woman promised that I'd be able to win your heart in addition to being freed from my father's schemes..."
She embraced Gwen, pressing herself tightly against her knight-turned-handmaiden, but they were both surprised to feel something pressed between them. Fina pulled away in confusion, and Gwen sat up with a look of curiosity on her face. Fina pulled up the hem of her nightdress and gave a startled yelp as it revealed what she knew to be the parts of a man in place of her own. Gwen stared down at it, then up at Fina, and laughed. "Of course," she mused to herself, her gaze drifting back downwards. "Your father could hardly use you for a strategic marriage to a neighboring prince if you weren't fully a woman."
Fina nodded slowly. "A-and...and what Burgos was saying, about the effects of the potion on you...if we..."
Gwen laughed softly and crept in closer, looking Fina right in the eye. "Oh, princess," she said. "My heart has belonged to you since the moment we met."
