Story Hub: [link]
\\~~~\\ I //~~~//
Maia 15th 758
Life in the New Celene Palace was
never dull or predictable, but it had become a special kind of hell for Jace
Regas. Nearly three weeks had passed since Jace made a fool of himself during
what was now dubbed the 34th Diane vs. Regas incident. He was summarily
punished for starting the fire, assaulting Orion instead of helping put out the
blaze, and blaming everyone else for his faults. Thus, he found himself in his
current predicament, polymorphed into a tiny yellow piglet under his cousin
Medy’s care. Or, as Jace viewed it, hell.
This whole experience was supposed
to teach him humility. Jace seriously questioned how being treated as Medy’s
little doll would teach him that. It’s not just that she made a crude little
bed for him in her room. It wasn’t the constant games of dress up or feeding
him slop. It wasn’t even the stupid collar she forced around his neck, but just
how callously she treated him in general now.
Jace always knew Medy as a somewhat
vain and body-focused girl who cared about what she ate. So, color him
surprised when she suddenly had this odd fascination with bacon and other pork
products. She’d always insist she was joking and that she’d never eat such
things in front of him, but he knew better than to take her word for it.
“Now, Jacey,” Medy chirped as she
dropped Jace into her basket and wrapped him in a blue blanket. “We’re going
into town today, so I want you on your best behavior. Don’t embarrass yourself
again or go running off. If you’re good, I’ll get you a treat.”
‘Stop treating me like I’m just a
dumb animal,’ Jace tried to exclaim, but it came out as an angry squeal. He
missed human vocal cords and opposable thumbs. ‘And why do you call it going
into town? We’re in the center of the city already!’ Medy ignored Jace’s
furious whines as she checked herself in the mirror once last time. She wore
her hair in the usual ponytail, but it was a touch more casual and messier than
usual to make her seem like any other girl. The maid had also discarded her
uniform in exchange for a brown skirt, white blouse, and tan summer coat,
topped off with a green necklace to match her eyes.
“Of course, I’m looking my best. I’m
me,” Medy giggled as she picked up Jace’s basket and set out from her room. She
trotted through the halls, pondering how she would start her first long weekend
in a while. However, as she turned a corner, she caught sight of two people she
held more than a little animosity towards. ‘Isn’t that Serena and Orion? They
look beaten up. Does that mean…? Oh, this will be a fun distraction.’
“Well, well looks like the shoe is
on the other foot,” Medy put on her usual ‘I’m mocking you’ tone. She knew it
would grate at Serena’s nerves, Orion not so much (then again, it was damn near
impossible to get a rise out of him anyways), but one out of two wouldn’t be
bad.
“What do you want, Medy?” Serena
groaned and gave the brunette maid a glare. Medy could practically feel
Serena’s frustration and relished the sensation.
“Oh, nothing, just wanted to confirm
a rumor that you two became Lady Ze’s newest victi- I mean star pupils,” Medy
smirked. “I guess the rumors were true. It’s not so funny now that you’re on
the receiving end of her ‘training,’ is it?” The brunette could still feel the
ache in her bones from her (totally underserved, she didn’t do anything wrong,
honest) punishment after the Graviton incident. Still, it felt good to know
those two now felt the same.
“Shouldn’t you be more focused on
your assigned duty of watching over Jace while he’s being punished rather than
distracting yourself with the rumor mill?” Serena chided.
“Unlike some people, I am more than
capable of multitasking. Jace is right here,” Medy held out the basket. Jace
poked his head out from beneath the blanket and snorted in the direction of the
two Diane servants.
‘It’s your fault this happened to
me, Orion,’ Jace screamed in his mind. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong. You set me
up! When I get out of this stupid basket, I’ll….I’ll…well, whatever I do, you
won’t like it!’
“Is he okay in there?” Orion asked
with genuine concern. Which just made Jace angrier.
“He’s fine,” Medy huffed. “I feed
him plenty of slop and brush his coat daily.”
“Right,” Serena sighed. “While I’d
love to stay here and trade barbs with you all day, I have to lie down before
my back gives out again.”
“Fine, I’m off to town anyway,” Medy
turned her nose up at the two and sauntered off. ‘So much for having fun, those
two have no sense of humor.’
“She seemed to be in a good mood,”
Orion commented.
“Then I’m terrified to imagine what
she’s like when she’s in a bad mood,” Serena looked at Orion incredulously.
\\~~~\\ II //~~~//
After a brisk walk, a pass through
some secret passages, and a quick trip on a bubble shuttle, Medy
found herself at the heart of the city of New Celene. The city of gemstones and
crystals was as idyllic as ever. The Regas maid hopped out of the transport no
worse for wear. However, the same couldn’t be said for Jace, whose tiny piglet
body wasn’t suited for being stuffed into a metal tube moving at the speed of
sound. Medy didn’t notice his distress and skipped forward into her lovely day.
“Okay, first off, we’re stopping by
the jewelry store on Topaz Street,” Medy announced to her companion.
‘What do you need more jewelry for?’
Jace squealed. ‘You blew a month’s pay on those shiny rocks already. Your aunt
is going to be pissed when she finds out.’
“Then there’s that cute little place
on Sapphire Way that just opened,” the brunette ignored him.
‘That’s just a touristy trinket
shop, and it opened four months ago,’ the yellow piglet exclaimed, despite
knowing she couldn’t understand him.
“And I need to pop into the store
next door, I need a new blouse,” Medy commented.
‘You just bought a new blouse last
week,’ Jace fumed.
“Then let’s see…new swimsuit, no I
don’t have enough saved for one, I’ll just take notes…Hats and sunglasses,
can’t hurt to look…Oh, and I can’t forget to top off my snack stash,” Medy
muttered, “well, that’s all on Ruby Road.”
‘Is that all?’ Jace rolled his eyes.
“Don’t you worry, Jacey. We’ll stop
by the pet store and get you some toys on the way out. Oh, and a cute sweater,
too,” the maid giggled.
‘I am not a pet,’ Jace screamed as
loud as he could, but his tiny piglet mouth only emitted a high-pitched squeal
that made Medy laugh. Said squeal also attracted the attention of a few other
girls Medy’s age.
“Oh, my goshness, they’re so cute.
Are they yours?” A girl with bleach blonde hair dyed pink at the tips and tan
skin sprang forward upon seeing the piglet Jace.
“It’s a yellow one. That’s super dee
duper rarsie,” added another girl with hair dyed in three different colors done
up in short twin tails.
“His name is Jacey. He’s a
mischievous little piglet,” Medy answered.
‘Why you!’ Jace furiously bounced in
the basket.
“Goshness, mine’s exactly the same,”
the blonde girl commented. “Does he bite his brush to thinking it’s food?”
“No, he mostly bites at me when I
bring him food,” Medy chuckled.
“Classic piggy behavior,” the girl
with multicolored hair laughed. “I tototes got to get me one now. Do they still
come in black?”
“Oh honey-bit, that’s soso, capital
R, retro,” the blonde pointed out.
“Retro’s on the ins, or did you
forgetie already?” the girl with multicolored hair argued.
“Nope, retro’s out as of,” Medy
checked her cell phone, “two hours ago.”
“For realsies? Youie ain’t yanking
up on my chain?” Multicolor girl gasped.
“Got the confirm,” the blonde girl
checked her phone. “Retro is outro. You are totes behind the times.”
“Nosie, this can’t be real life. I
have to catch up!” Multicolor girl exclaimed. “To the mall, ASANOW!” She bolted
off.
“Wait, I haven’t even got a picture
of the piggy yet!” The blonde girl chased her friend.
‘What even was that?’ Jace wondered.
“I wonder if that’s what Serena was
like before she worked at the palace,” Medy pondered. “Oh, if her friends saw
Ms. Planest of Janes now, they’d laugh her outsie…ahem.”
‘You’re one to talk about plane
janes, miss brunette in brown,’ Jace commented to himself.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Much to Jace’s displeasure, the day
continued the same way it had started. Medy bounced between the stores on her
list, plus whatever else caught her eye at the moment, and every single person
they ran into cooed and fawned over “the cute whittle piggy.” Usually, Jace
would enjoy the attention, but he couldn’t gain any satisfaction from being
constantly poked and prodded like an animal. If one more middle-aged woman
bopped his nose, he’d flip.
That brought them to their current
circumstance, Medy doing her grocery shopping (read: snack acquisition) at the
store on Ruby Road. Of course, Medy, being her virtuous self, decided they
needed to swing by the meat section for no malicious reason whatsoever.
“Oh, bacon is on sale, and pork
chops, too,” Medy laughed.
‘Alright, that’s it, I’ve had it up
to here with her disrespect,’ Jace hit his breaking point. ‘I’d rather spend
the rest of my life being punched in the face by Orion than spend one more
minute at her side.’ Typically, such an exclamation would be to the void. It’s
not as if he could escape Medy, being the tiny creature he was now. However,
that fact rested upon the premise that she was watching him like she was
supposed to.
“Oh, that’s on sale to…but what
would I use all that chicken for? Well, whatever I don’t eat can just go into
the slop bucket,” Medy thought aloud, oblivious to Jace as she set his basket
down to reach further back into the meat section.
‘Wait, can I?’ Jace realized his
opportunity and looked at his surroundings. No one else in the area was facing
his direction. He could hop out of the basket and run for freedom, and Medy
would be none the wiser. ‘Maybe I should about this. Where would I even go?’
“Bacon-infused pork chops? I wonder
what that’s supposed to mean? I guess I’ll find out,” Medy hummed to herself.
‘Caution to the wind then,’ Jace
hopped out of the basket and ran for freedom, or at least the nearest exit he
could fit his tiny body through.
\\~~~\\ III //~~~//
Jace snaked his way through the
grocery store’s aisles. The sleek structure was not dissimilar to 21st-century
analogs, albeit it was more heavily stocked with products, had much more chrome
in its color scheme, and had no visible employees on the floor. A fact which
was beneficial to Jace, who only had to avoid other customers and the
occasional floor-bound cleaning robot. The polymorphed young man knew he
couldn’t just run out the front door. That would put him right out into a
crowded street, where he could get stepped on, or worse, picked up by a Good
Samaritan who’d return him to Medy immediately. Thankfully, opportunity
presented itself, and Jace spotted a gap between a pair of shelves that seemed
to lead to the backrooms of the building.
‘Backrooms equals backdoor, backdoor
equals alley, alley equals freedom,’ Jace calculated and dashed for the gap. He
ran right into the space, only to snag on something. Undeterred, he pushed
forward harder until whatever held him back snapped. The piglet popped out the
other side of the shelves into a darker hallway bereft of human life. ‘Good, no
one’s here. The last thing I need is to run into someone now,’ Jace scampered
off, oblivious to the fact the collar Medy had put around him now lay broken on
the floor on the other side of the shelves.
Jace’s good luck continued as only a
moment later, he came upon what he was looking for: the backdoor right at the
end of the hallway. He practically skipped towards it until reality came
crashing down, or rather, he crashed into reality (read: the door). Despite
getting this far, he couldn’t open the door without being taller or having
opposable thumbs.
‘Dang it, it’s one of those
old-fashioned twist knobs. It doesn’t have controls or slide open,’ Jace fumed.
‘Not that I could slide it open at my size…and would I be able to operate
controls with my hooves?’ Jace began to contemplate how little he thought
through his great escape. ‘Not a problem, I’ll just find a hole in the wall or
something. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and someone will leave through here, and I can
sneak behind them,’ Jace considered as he trotted back the way he came, only
for the door to open right behind him.
“Woo-eh, I thought I locked myself
out again,” a big man with a chef’s hat and stained white apron sauntered
through the door. “Should get that old door replaced one of these days…now what
was I doing again? Right the meat…” He looked down to see the tiny yellow
piglet before him. “Well I’ll be, a stray piglet wandered in. That’s a new one
on me.”
‘Run away!’ Jace tried to flee, but
being so small, the big man overtook him quickly and picked him up before he
could get far.
“Where are you going?” The big man
asked with a chuckle. “Been a long time since I got such a young cut o’ pork in
my hands. I wonder if…” The man hummed to himself as he carried Jace down the
hall.
‘You know, in hindsight, trying to
escape in the meat section was not my brightest idea,’ Jace admitted.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Medy was off in her own little world
of comparing sales prices of chicken for several minutes before she realized
Jace was gone. As she hefted up his basket to carry him to the next aisle, she
noticed it was lighter and less noisy than before. She let that thought roll
through her mind for a bit before the implications hit her.
“Jace?” She looked down at the
basket and saw it was missing one yellow piglet. “Dang it, Jace, where did you
run off to?” The brunette huffed as she began to frantically look around the
area. She couldn’t hear the pitter-patter of hooves or whiny squeals, so he
wasn’t nearby. “Not a problem. He couldn’t have gotten that far.” She rushed
through the nearby aisles, questioning everyone she passed if they saw a little
yellow piglet. Alas, no one had.
“Is he really so small that he
slipped under everyone’s nose?” Medy wondered as she made her third round of
the meat section. “Why didn’t anyone so much as look…down?” The maid turned her
gaze directly downward and spotted something alarming. It was his collar,
dangling in a gap between two shelves.
“No, no, no,” she panicked. “Without
this, everyone might see him as some stray pig. I might not be able to spot him
at a glance now, either. And if he’s just some stray pig, then the world might
see him as fair game, then who knows what might happen to him. Then, if
anything happens to him, who knows what might happen to me? I might be on the
chopping block next!”
The Regas maid began to
hyperventilate, her loud panic attracting many concerned stares. Feeling
noticed and judged, Medy was flooded with a different kind of anxiety and an
unhealthy dose of embarrassment. She fled to an adjacent aisle and considered
her next move.
‘I have to find him. He might still
be in the store,’ she rationalized. ‘If he squeezed through those shelves, he
might be lost in the employee section. Maybe someone has already found him and
is ready to make an announcement about a lost pet…Oh, who am I kidding? He’d
never be so lucky.’ Medy rolled her eyes at her own optimism before setting out
to find her cousin. ‘Better move quick before I get in serious trouble…and
before he gets hurt, I guess.’
\\~~~\\ IV //~~~//
Jace was carried off by the burly
man deeper into the backrooms of the grocery store. The human-turned-piglet
briefly struggled in his captor’s grasp but quickly realized he was good and
stuck. He couldn’t even shift his weight around enough to bite the man.
‘Maybe I’m assuming too much. He’s
probably just bringing me somewhere to announce he found a lost pet,’ Jace
hoped.
“Here we go,” the burly man opened a
nearby automatic sliding door into the grocery store’s meat department. It was
a fully stocked butcher shop, complete with an arsenal of knives, a small fleet
of assistant robots, and plenty of freshly strained chopping blocks. The color
drained from Jace’s body to the point one might mistake him for an albino
piglet. “Dario,” the butcher turned to one of the robots, “what do you think of
this prime cut of pork I just found roaming the halls?”
“Scanning,” the pill-shaped
automaton announced as its mechanical eyes scrutinized Jace. A screen on its
chest lit up as it made its judgment. “Too stringy.”
‘Stringy?’ Jace felt a little
offended.
“This little chop looks like it was
just pried from its momma’s breast, and you call it stringy?”
“Affirmative, sir,” Dario replied,
“my sensors indicate that it is, without a doubt, Too Stringy.” The screen on
its chest lit up with a visual, repeating the declaration of “Too Stringy” in
bold letters.
“Bah, what do you know?” The butcher
scoffed. “I’mma get you serviced this weekend to work out those kinks in your
eyes that can’t see good meat when it’s right in front of your face.” The burly
man reached for a large knife. “Gonna cook me up some lunch with this Kobe
Pork.”
“That is not a thing,” Dario
replied.
“Is that so, Mr. No-it-All?” The
butcher rolled his eyes.
“Affirmative, in addition, there is
no such thing as this Kobe Beef you keep referring to,” Dario continued. “Such
a thing only exists in the old stories you keep reading because the city of
Kobe, where it supposedly originates from, hasn’t existed for over-.”
“I didn’t ask for a history lesson,”
the butcher snapped. “Why does a butcher’s assistant robot even no something
like that?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I am programmed
with all collected information regarding meat, meat products, meat accessories,
and the history thereof,” Dario explained.
“Then prove it and tell me the best
way to cut up and cook this little sucker,” the butcher demanded.
“I would advise against it, for the
piglet is Too Stringy, but if that is your request, allow me to present you
with a relevant diagram,” Dario’s chest screen lit up with a detailed image of
how to cut up a piglet, much to Jace’s horror.
“Now that’s what I’mma talking
about,” the butcher said gleefully.
‘No, no, no, no!’ Jace began to
sweat like…well, a pig (which is funny because pigs don’t have a lot of sweat
glands, but Jace wasn’t exactly an ordinary pig and was in an exceptional
situation). ‘I can’t die here like this. I have so much to live for,’ Jace
began to wriggle in the butcher’s grasp.
“Heya, stop squirming,” the butcher
demanded.
‘I want to live, I want to live!’
Jace cried out as the adrenaline took over. Suddenly, he went from being a tiny
little porkchop to a very sweaty and slippery little porkchop. As the butcher
tried to wrangle Jace by pinning him to a cutting board, the polymorphed butler
finally gave the burly man the slip (quite literally). Sliding out of the man’s
grasp like a little butterball, Jace went full throttle towards the door they
entered. Unfortunately, he was still too small or light to trigger the automatic
open or force his way through. However…
“Where do you think you’re going,
little chop?” The butcher made chase, triggering the automatic door as he
approached.
‘Exit, stage right,’ Jace bounced
out the door and bolted through the hall. Knowing that remaining in said hall
would just leave him out in the open, the piglet began to snake through the
building, searching for anything to escape into a place the butcher couldn’t
reach.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
“That wasn’t so hard, just a pesky
tri-fold lock,” Medy whipped her hair back. “They really got to beef up their
security. Anyone (with advanced infiltration training) could have cracked
that.” The maid walked right into the employee section like she owned the
place, despite the fact she basically broke in. Obviously, she wasn’t supposed
to be back here, but since the staff should be all workers, and she’s a worker,
there shouldn’t be a problem, right?
‘Now to find Jace, an employee, or
an assistant robot or something,’ Medy scanned the hallway as she walked
through. ‘I know most places don’t have as much staff as the palace, but don’t
tell me there’s nobody here? Come on, at least two or three workers must be
back here.’
“Come back here, you little chop!” A
man’s voice echoed down the hall from around a corner.
‘Well, there’s my answer,’ Medy
rushed towards the sounds. As she rounded the corner, she found a burly man in
a chef’s hat wielding a knife with a crazed look in his eye. ‘Not what I
expected to see, and a very unpleasant sight at that.’
“What are you doing back here, young
lady?” The butcher noticed her. “Didn’t you see the employee-only signs? And
the locks?”
‘Play it sweet, turn on the
waterworks,’ Medy decided. “Oh, it’s so dreadful, I didn’t notice. My precious
little piglet is lost, and he must have come back here,” Medy held her hands
together pleadingly as her eyes teared up.
“Piglet, you say?” The butcher grew
uncomfortable. “Never saw one. Why don’t you go back to the store, and I’ll go
look for him.”
“You didn’t see him?” Medy tried not
to act too suspicious of him. “Then why are you running around with a knife
yelling about a little chop?”
“Uh, it’s the name of my dog…he ran
off with a piece of meat I was trying to cut,” the butcher excused.
“You brought a dog to work?” Medy
looked him up and down, “at a butcher shop?”
“Listen, kid, I don’t tell you how
to live your life,” the butcher deflected. “Why don’t you leave the
employee-only section, go back to your parents, and we’ll sort this out with
the grown-ups.”
‘Alright, pet peeved,’ Medy dropped
the act. “Listen, buster, you’ve got 30 seconds to tell me where that piglet
is. Or you’ll be answering to my auntie, who, for your information, is the head
of the Regas family.”
“R-r-r-r-Regas?” The butcher paused.
“That’s right, and that piglet is
very important to her, so if I find out you’ve been trying to chop him into
bits, it’ll be more than your job on the line,” Medy threatened.
“Nice try, kid,” the butcher put on
a brave face, “you can pretend to be a Regas all you want, but you still have
to leave.”
“Listen to me, you Vassos swine,”
Medy picked up the much larger man by the scruff of his neck and lifted him
with minimal effort, “tell me where that piglet is, or you’ll be the dead
meat!”
“Alright, alright,” the man’s
bravado shattered as he realized Medy was not bluffing. I don’t know where he
is. He got away from me. By now, he could be anywhere in the building.”
“See, that’s what honesty feels
like,” Medy dropped him like a sack of potatoes. ‘Good to know he’s still close
by. If he had gotten outside, who knows what might have happened.’
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
‘Freedom, freedom,’ Jace exclaimed
as he wiggled through the narrow passage. It seemed the back areas of this
grocery store were not well kept, and all sorts of holes and gaps in the wall
had been opened up over the years. Jace found one that allowed him to elude the
butcher, and now his luck turned out double-fold as he spotted a bright light
in the distance. The outside was within reach.
‘I shouldn’t have doubted.
Everything goes right for Jace Regas in the end,’ Jace blustered as he forced
his way out into the open and immediately regretted his every life choice.
“Bark, bark, bark, bark,” a ravenous
chorus of dogs
swarmed after the tiny little snack that had just delivered itself right to
them. They had been sitting around waiting for the butcher to return with more
scraps and unsold meat, but now the meat was coming to them. Such a wonderful
modern innovation.
‘What did I do to deserve this?’
Jace ran for his life, aided only by the fact the dogs kept crashing into each
other as they tried to take a bite out of him. The piglet darted into the
streets, hoping the wall of pedestrians would delay the dogs. While his plan
did work to an extent, the hungry (and bored) canines would not stop for
anything, even if it meant knocking over a half-dozen people.
Pedestrians looked on in a mixture
of awe, confusion, and horror as the little piggy was chased through the
streets by the dogs. Few attempted to stop the almost cartoonish pursuit, as
those who did try were usually knocked flat on their asses by the canines.
Meanwhile, Jace desperately searched for anything to escape this next
predicament.
‘I’d even take Medy back at this
rate,’ Jace admitted. ‘What can I possibly…?’ His eyes caught a sudden glimmer
of light. Just past the light, he saw another little gap he could squeeze
through that his pursuers could not, a sewer grate. While he did not relish the
idea of escaping into a filthy drain, the alternative was a painful death, so
it wasn’t really a choice. ‘Sanctuary,’ he dived into the sewer grate, which he
briefly got stuck in. However, the sound of approaching jaws motivated him to
force his way through the instant before a bite was taken out of his rear end.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
“That butcher was worthless,” Medy
cursed as she raced onto the city streets. Neither hide nor hair of the piglet
Jace was found anywhere within the grocery store. Thankfully, the butcher
remembered they had security cameras, so they checked the recent footage to
find where the piglet had vanished. Unfortunately, all they saw at first was
Jace disappearing into a gap in the wall. After an obnoxious amount of
searching, they checked an exterior camera to find him being chased away by a
pack of dogs. Considering that the footage was ten-plus minutes old, time was
not only of the essence, but it may have been too late. Thus, Medy bolted out
the back door to chase after her lost cousin.
‘Where is he? Where is he?’ Medy
stormed through the streets, searching for any sign of Jace or the dogs chasing
him. Most people she inquired about his whereabouts from hadn’t seen him, and
the few who did could only corroborate that he was chased by those dogs fairly
far away. ‘There were like a dozen dogs. How could they all disappear so
quickly?’ A pit had formed in Medy’s stomach. At this rate, she’d give herself
an ulcer.
“Whoa, whoa, where’s the fire, young
lady?” A uniformed man approached Medy. He had a gun on his hip and a mace
strapped to his back and was garbed in a mixture of body armor and chainmail.
As if a medieval soldier and a police officer fused together.
‘Not right now,’ Medy felt her whole
body tense. ‘Is he actually an officer or just some private security goon?’
“I can’t stop right now, I’m in the
middle of something, and time is a factor,” Medy snapped at him.
“No need to be upset,” the man
assured. “I know you must have something important going on, but you can’t be
making a scene on the streets like that. Now, is something bothering you? Can I
help?”
‘Oh, so he is an officer,’ Medy felt
a tiny pang of relief. It still wasn’t a desirable situation, but there was a
chance he might actually help her. “Listen, I need to find my…aunt’s pet piglet
before the local dogs get him, and he’s already in danger.”
“Sure, why don’t we go back to the
station, and I’ll fill out a missing pet report,” the officer offered,
extending his arm to take Medy’s hand.
“Uh, no. He’s being chased right
now, I can’t wait for that,” Medy pulled away from him.
“Listen, young lady, I know you’re
stressed, but we got to get you off the streets,” the officer urged. “When a
worker is panicking, that’s a sign to the low nobles that something really bad
is happening, and we don’t want to panic them unnecessarily, do we?”
‘How did he peg me as a worker so
quickly? Am I really that obvious?’ Medy fumed. “Don’t make me call me aunt to
pull rank on you.”
“I’m sure your aunt is someone very
important, all the more reason why we don’t want to start something,” the
officer continued to urge as he tried to emphasize his greater height over the
maid.
“Do you want the whole Regas family
on your stupid ass?” Medy snapped back at the officer.
“The Regas? Are you…?” The officer
was taken aback. Not threatened, but just surprised and a little upset. As
though this whole situation became ten times more of a headache.
“To heck with this,” Medy jumped
away from the officer and ran off. ‘I’ve wasted enough brain power on this guy.
I need to find Jace.’
“Hey, come back here,” the officer
gave chase.
‘Need to disappear, need to get
somewhere no one would or could follow me,’ Medy realized. ‘I bet that’s how
Jace felt…but then what would he…?’ The maid noticed an odd glint in the corner
of her vision, directing her vision downward. ‘Oh yeah, it’s obvious when you
think about it…’
\\~~~\\ V //~~~//
Jace emerged from the sewers into
the old city beneath New Celene, far worse for wear than he started. His body
was filthy and reeked of sewage and other unpleasant liquids. He was covered in
nicks and scratches, and his tiny piglet muscles were sore and strained. The
sewers proved to be far worse than the surface. Jace regretted using it as a
method of escape as what chased him in there were far less friendly than the
dogs. Thankfully, his small size proved his salvation again as worming through
the many pipes led him to relative safety.
Alas, now he did not have the
faintest hope of returning home or even seeing the end of the day. Not only was
Jace exhausted, but he was also hungry, thirsty, and vulnerable to being
infected by whatever nasty stuff he encountered in the sewers. He could barely
move at more than a slow trot and knew it was only a matter of time before he
just collapsed.
‘It’s not fair, it’s not fair,’ Jace
cried. He didn’t have the energy to blame anyone else for his problems and
could only curse his situation in general. He longed for the comforts of home.
Even Medy’s basket seemed like a sanctuary at this point. ‘I just want to crawl
into a hole and…well, I don’t want to die, but I’d rather ball up and expire
than be chased again. I don’t think I have the energy to run away.’
“Hey boys, look, a little chop,” a
random man in a tank top with tattoos spotted Jace.
“I say we grab it. If we find
another, we could make um fight,” another man with a mohawk added.
“Yeah, I saw that in a movie once.
It was awesome,” a portly third man added.
“Get em’ boys,” the first man
declared, and they chased after Jace.
‘Why me?’ Jace mustered the last of
his strength to run one final time, but his pace was much slower now. He knew
it was only a matter of time before they overtook him. The piglet’s only saving
grace was a head start, and even that was rapidly dwindling.
“He’s rounding the corner to
Brando’s. Cut him off before he crawls under something,” the second man
shouted.
‘Maybe I can escape?’ Jace felt a
fleeting hope as he turned the corner. He saw plenty of broken-down and aging
buildings but no obvious piglet-sized entrances. ‘Nothing! Come on, this is the
part where I find another escape. It’s always this part when I do,’ Jace
bemoaned his bad fortune as he ran past a building with a sign reading
“Brando’s.”
“I got em’,” one of the men prepared
to lunge at Jace, but just as he prepared to dive, the door to Brando’s swung
open. A very intoxicated raven-haired young woman wandered out of the building
and collided with the man.
“The hell is your problem, you
whizz-drinking donkey kicker?” The woman snapped.
“Out the way, dumbo, I’m doing
somein’ important,” the man yelled back at her.
“Oh, you’re doing something
important, huh?” The woman hiccupped. “I’ll give you something important to do.
Healing when I’m through with you!” She slammed him into the ground like a
football.
“Ah crap, it’s that girl!” The
portly man realized who they were dealing with and turned to run.
“She’s plastered, man. How dangerous
could she…BEEEEE?!!!” The mohawked man was picked up like a piece of plywood
and hurled at his friend. The two crashed into each other and fell to the
ground in a heap.
“Ha, that felt better than I thought
it would,” the woman laughed before stumbling off. Meanwhile, Jace had hidden
himself in a nearby alley behind an old, beaten-up trashcan. He had missed most
of the fight. For a brief second, Jace thought Serena had suddenly appeared but
quickly realized the young woman’s only similarity to Serena was their hair
color. While he was grateful for the accidental save, it only put him back at
square one, or rather square negative five, considering how poorly this day had
gone.
‘I can’t go on,’ his tiny legs
finally gave out, and his eyes started to well up with tears. ‘I’m sorry, Mom,
I’m not coming home. I’m sorry, Medy, you’re probably still running around the
grocery store looking for me. Now you’ll get in trouble for losing me. I’m
sorry…I’m sorry, Orion. This wouldn’t have happened if I was never a jerk to
you. I’m sorry, everyone, I screwed up, I screwed up!’
With no answers to his cries, Jace
laid there in the alley on his side. He barely had the strength to keep his
eyes open and, with no other choice, let them fall shut. The polymorphed butler
let the darkness overtake him, and his consciousness slipped away. He did not
know if he’d awaken, but he lacked the energy to care…
A flash of light startled him awake,
and Jace sprang to his feet, although he quickly fell back down again.
‘What was that? Was that the light?
Have they come to take me to heaven?’ Jace frantically looked around.
“There you are!” A pair of hands
picked him off the ground. Jace panicked that his luck had finally run out, but
as he turned to face his captor, his heart sprang with glee. “I’ve been looking
everywhere for you,” Medy stated as she stared down at the piglet.
‘Medy,’ Jace burst into tears and
buried his tiny head in her shoulder.
“Hey, knock it off. You’re stinky
and covered in muck,” Medy grumbled. “I don’t know what got into you to run
away like that…okay, that’s a lie. I know you’re nutty enough to try something
like that without thinking. And I guess you’re probably not a fan of how I’ve
treated you, but still, think a little.”
‘Oh, thank every god and goddess in
the known universe,’ Jace thanked the world. ‘But how did you find me?’
“Now, let’s get you home before
people realize how long we’ve been gone,” Medy commented. “Jeez, if it wasn’t
for the random flash of light, I never would have found you. I guessed you
might end up in the old city if you needed to get off the streets, but I
half-expected to never find you regardless.”
‘Flash of light? That wasn’t you?’
Jace was confused. ‘But then who?’
“It was me,” a voice answered from
behind them. The two turned and saw a pale woman in a white sundress with long
flowing hair that obscured her eyes.
“Your Maj-?!” Medy began to say.
“Hush now, wouldn’t want to tell the
whole world I’m down here now,” the Queen smiled. “Jace Regas, I assume you’ve
learned your lesson?”
‘I get it,’ Jace teared up
internally, ‘I know what it’s like to be helpless and beaten on. I’ll repent,
I’ll apologize, I’ll do anything to never let that happen again.’
“That’s wonderful to hear…not the
suffering part,” the Queen smiled.
“What’d he say?” Medy looked down at
Jace. All she could hear were his high-pitched squeals, but apparently, the
Queen spoke piglet.
“Honestly, I never intended you to
suffer so terribly from this punishment. It was meant to be a lesson in
humility, not torture,” Celene admitted. “That’s why I led Medy to you and,
perhaps, engineered a few favorable circumstances.”
“Wait, you knew where he was? This
whole time?” Medy was taken aback. ‘Has she been spying on us?’
“Well, I wouldn’t call it spying,”
the Queen giggled. “I check in on lots of people who work around the palace
occasionally, especially those undergoing a punishment. Imagine my surprise
when I looked in on him and found him being chased by a pack of dogs.”
‘Did she just read my mind?’ Medy
shivered.
“I was hoping to appear in a burst
of light like a fairy godmother when this was all over,” the Queen revealed,
“but you’ve been through enough that such theatrics are unnecessary.” Celene
held up her finger, “Now, what was the return spell again…? Bibidity something
or other?”
‘Please, no,’ Jace felt his heart
sink.
“Just kidding,” Celene snapped her
finger, and in a swirl of light, Jace went from piglet back to being a young
man. “Now take whatever lessons you have learned today to heart. I don’t want
to have to do this again…that means you, Medy.” The Queen stepped back into the
shadows and vanished in, literally, the blink of an eye.
“Well, that’s the end of that,” Jace
coughed. It was weird having human vocal cords and legs again. He had to fight
his instinct to get back on all fours.
“Jace,” Medy’s eyes bugged out.
“My punishment is over, and I’m back
to being me. I can’t wait to see the look on Orion’s face,” Jace laughed, “no
wait, he’ll probably be happy for me. There’s no fun in that.”
“Jace!” Medy snapped.
“What are you bleating about…? Oh,”
Jace realized what was up. The Queen had restored him to precisely as he was
the night she transformed him. Not that there was anything wrong with him
physically that night, but when she transformed him, his clothes didn’t change
with him. So, now that he’s been restored…
“Cover your shame,” Medy shielded
her eyes.
“With what?” Jace frantically
covered his crotch.
“This,” Medy handed him the blanket
from her basket.
“Dang it, I’m human for all of 30
seconds, and I’m already back to this dang blanket,” Jace wrapped it around his
waist for all the good it did. “Whatever, I’m back, I’m on top, I’m the
best…oh, forget it, I don’t have the energy to bluster. Just help me get back
to the palace before someone sees.”
“Too late for that,” Medy cringed at
the sight of Jace’s still very exposed behind. “We’ll find some drifter and mug
him for his coat.”
“Whoa, whoa, I’m desperate, but not
mug random people for coats desperate,” Jace was offended. “There’s got to be a
store or something.”
“In the old city? Not likely,” Medy
rolled her eyes. “Even if there is, it won’t be anything good. Probably just
stuff people threw away.”
“It doesn’t have to be fancy. I just
need to cover up,” Jace exclaimed. “Let’s get out of here. I can already see
onlookers getting a little too curious.”
“Fine, I’m still telling your mom
you flashed me,” Medy stuck her tongue at him.
“You wouldn’t,” Jace was aghast.
Their journey back to the palace was
nothing special, although neither desired to speak of it again. However, Jace
was back on two feet and ready to prove himself again. Unfortunately, he’d soon
have the perfect opportunity to do so.
May This Fantasy
Continue A Little Longer…
Next Time: Chapter +++, Interruption
>>>~~~~<<<
A punishment is usually meant to impart a lesson or at least force one to face the consequences of their actions. It is not to be a method of torture.
Author's Note: This chapter took longer than I thought it would. A fun little diversion to top off Volume 3, bringing Jace and Medy back for their own spotlight story. As for the story itself, well you know what they say, a little childhood trauma builds character (no it doesn't). But seriously, after showing Jace and Medy primarily as antagonists in their previous appearances, it was time to see how they view the world, and maybe glean why they act how they do. Jace also learns a horribly traumatic lesson, Medy learns nothing (at least for now).
I actually had a lot of fun writing from their perspective, Jace plays Serena's usual role, mentally commenting on everyone's antics, but his snark veers in its own direction. Medy meanwhile flips the script when compared to Orion, as seen by her being both more affable and aggressive at alternating points to get what she wants rather than going with the flow. In hindsight, Serena and Orion's stories have been more reactionary, they avoid problems until they come to them. But Jace and Medy go and create their own problems.
As for the rest of this volume, we've got the bonus chapter and we're done. Then we will move onto Volume 4, which will probably not start for a bit. The way the story is going to shape out in 4, I'll want to write and release the chapters closer together. So the idea is, Volume 4 will take longer to start, but it'll all come out mostly sequentially (ideally).
In the meantime, I'll put out more Maid in Fantasy shorts, a few random short stories and maybe something else.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
