THE PRINCESS & THE SLAVE: Part Three

The next exciting installment of this preview story from Talons of the Hawk. 

(Puts on hypnotic voice) 

Read the book! 

REEEEAAADDD THE BOOOOOOK! 

As the journey began, Princess Saffie amused herself as she always had done, enjoying the excesses of her rank and toying, if she would, with the servant girls attending her.

But the longer the ship spent at sea, the more the princess was overcome with sickness. She had never travelled far by boat before and such an enduring trip took a heavy toll on her equilibrium. She felt awful and no matter what remedies her slaves fetched for her, she didn’t feel any better.

Most irritating of all was her slave Raul, who showed no signs of sea sickness and seemed almost to think himself better than her because of it. He showed no overt signs of that of course, but she sensed it nevertheless.

She had a good mind to turn him into an animal. There was a pen on the ship with gifts for the prince’s family. Another goat or cow in there wouldn’t be noticed and it would serve him right. Though long favoured, the princess was rapidly tiring of the towering slave and there were always more where he came from.

But then another idea occurred to her that would both make her feel better and teach him a lesson.

The deck of the boat where she languished was already screened off by silk curtains and shaded by a great silk canopy. She ordered the other servants to leave them alone and declared that she did not want to be disturbed under any circumstances until she called for it.

Once she was sure they were alone, Princess Saffie took up the hawk statuette and gripping it tightly, said, “Would that I had the body of Raul and he had the body I wear.

Raul had witnessed the power of the hawk a hundred times but never directed at himself and he was terrified as he began to shrink and change, glowing with a dark and golden light. But Saffie thought it was hilarious and laughed long and loudly as her form swelled and became muscular until her laugh was a great booming man’s laugh.

Their clothes altered to match their new forms and Saffie looked down at himself in astoundment, loving his broad chest and thick arms. It felt funny to have a smooth bald head and such a deep voice but it was also very amusing.

Now looking every bit a little woman, Raul quailed in fear and begged to be restored to her normal form.

“Silence!” declared Saffie with his new resounding voice. “You will do as I command or face life as an animal!”

The new woman became instantly cowed and the male Saffie reclined on his cushions, demanding that Raul take up the ostrich feather fan she was using before.

Saffie no longer felt queasy in the least but Raul clearly did. The new woman took up the fan and laboured to keep her master cool, despite her terrible sickness, all the while sweating profusely.

Greatly enjoying the turnabout, Saffie set the hawk down and reclined back, sipping wine from a goblet.

And so it went for a good long hour as Raul struggled to serve her tyrannical master in her tiny feminine body while he lauded it over her with delight.

Soon, Saffie was dropping off, it was so warm and he was so happy. As Raul went on fanning him, he let himself drift into sleep with happy dreams of the terrors he would inflict on Prince Kalide for his impudence.