This story is meant
to be fairly wholesome and for most viewers. However…
*Numerous LGBTQ
characters are in this story, including a transgender main character.
*There are themes of magical transgender transformation (by both “dark” and
“light” forces) in this story.
*Mild profane language is used.
=== Mid-May, a couple of weeks later. ===
Scarlet and Connor stepped off the bus. Before them was Scarlet’s family, the Martins. Taking up her boss’s offer, she invited her parents, her older brother Brent, and her younger sister Violet, to join them on the trip. Everyone important to her, all in one place.
Violet dashed up to Scarlet first and hugged her. “Glad see you again, sis!”
Scarlet returned the hug. “You too! Been a while. How’s your medical degree coming along?”
“Slow, but I think I can get it in the next year or two,” Violet replied.
Mr. Martin held his hand out to Connor. “And of course, it’s nice to see you again! Thanks for taking care of Scarlet, as always.”
“Of course, sir!” Connor replied, shaking Mr. Martin’s hand.
“It’s nice to see you have an understanding boss for a change, Scarlet,” Mrs. Martin commented.
“Me too,” Scarlet replied.
“Well, sis, your boss has some good taste in vacation destinations,” Brent suggested. “Fun locals, great places to eat, and even some neat locations to explore!”
“Oh yeah, didn’t the brochure for this place say something about the mysterious 'Citadel' from which the town was named after?” Violet asked.
“I’d love to see what all the talk is about…” Connor suggested.
“Me too!” Scarlet agreed.
In their agreement, they got in their rental cars and traveled up towards the city’s highest point. Before them was a massive rock structure. It was ancient, whatever it was. They started walking through the structure, absorbing every detail.
“Woah, this place is freaky…” Violet muttered.
“It really is… Scarlet agreed. She didn’t say it, but she felt… Something. Presence? Power? There was something about this place that she could feel, like it was touching her very spirit.
“According to local legend, this isn’t a natural structure at all. The locals believe it is a merfolk castle from thousands of years ago. Natural plate tectonics pushed it up to the surface, and it was abandoned,” Brent explained. He was a history buff, teaching a high school history class back home.
“Wait, merfolk?” Scarlet asked. “Like the one from that Comic Con incident?”
“It may very well be!” Brent suggested, winking. “Of course, it’s all superstition and hearsay. I don’t know if any of it is real or not.”
“But we know Scarlet is! If Dark Magic is a thing, then why couldn’t mermaids be too?” Violet suggested.
That got Scarlet to think about something odd. She remembered Madaline, the coworker that handed her the information on Citadel Harbor. No matter what, she wore mittens and pants. And she came from here… A place that was said to be a merfolk kingdom… Didn’t the Comic Con mermaid have webbed hands and scaly legs?
“Well, whatever the case is, it’s no wonder this place attracts so many,” Connor suggested. “It’s spooky and mysterious.” He glanced over, seeing a team surveying a portion that they sealed off to study. They had logos from the local college, Citadel Harbor University, on their outfits. “And it looks like even seasoned archeologists like investigating this place. There’s got to be some truth to the rumors.”
“Agreed,” Brent replied, nodding.
Connor turned to Scarlet, who seemed to be spacing out. “Hey, honey, are you okay?”
“Wha-?” She shook her head. “Sorry, I just started thinking about something.”
“Daydreaming about mermen?” Violet joked.
Scarlet stuck her tongue out at Violet.
“Girls, come on now, you’re adults,” their dad groaned.
“Eh, it’s all good fun. Right, Scarlet?” Violet asked.
“Of course!” Scarlet agreed. “We’re here to have fun, after all!”
“I agree, let them be,” Mrs. Martin suggested.
“Alright, fine. Anyway, time’s flying. We should get our hotel rooms sorted out before lunch, wouldn’t you all agree?” Mr. Martin suggested.
The family nodded in agreement and started making their way out of the Citadel. Scarlet put her hand on the rugged wall one more time, sliding her hand down it as she turned to walk away. Little did she know, she revealed a strange, purple-colored shape that was caked underneath the dirt and dust…
The team from CHU glanced in the family’s direction briefly as they left. One of them turned to another. "You heard that quip about Dark Magic, right?” he whispered.
The partner nodded. “That ‘Scarlet’ looked like she was in a bit of a trance too. If she was magical, or even cursed, she might be sensing the magic in this place…” the other commented quietly.
They nodded and quickly got back to work.
Meanwhile, Scarlet’s family was able to get their rooms situated, and they were on their way to a restaurant they all were able to (finally) agree on. The town’s layout reminded them of the angled streets often depicted for San Francisco, sloping down from the Citadel into the ocean. The city was walled in at all sides by hills. At the top of the southern hill was the campus for Citadel Harbor University, and on the northern hill was some small private laboratory.
The restaurant that they picked was within walking distance of the hotel. But Scarlet was growing increasingly worried about the clouds hanging over the ocean. Connor could see her worry.
“Scarlet? Everything okay?” he asked, getting the group to stop.
Scarlet pointed to the cloud deck, shaking a little. “I-I’m not sure that’s good…” she muttered.
Everyone was now on alert, looking around. People were packing up outdoor gear and taking it inside. People were running by.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Brent shouted to a passer-by.
“Squall line! You might want to get inside somewhere quick!” replied the local, who then raced inside a house and closed the door.
Scarlet turned pale. She knew what that meant. She dove into her purse and pulled out her umbrella. She shot it open. But then a gust of wind hit. The family had to brace themselves from the sudden wall of air. Scarlet held onto the umbrella for dear life, but the wind desired it more than her will. It was ripped from her hands, which were reddened in pain.
Scarlet held her sore hands as the family realized how dire this was for her.
“Run,” Brent muttered.
Everyone nodded and quickly formed a shield around Scarlet. As fast as they could together, they ran, Scarlet trying to brace herself from the coming deluge. Glances to the horizon saw the wall of rain heading for them. They looked around for a desperate place of refuge. Home after home was locked. They needed a public place. Fast.
They spotted a street of businesses. It even looked like the one their restaurant might have been on. They started darting down the street…
But the wall of water met them, soaking them all. They stopped, holding their ground as they were battered by wind and rain. Several turned to Scarlet. She was hiding her face, but there was no denying it: her countercurse had activated. Short brown hair, a lean, slightly muscular body. Scarlet could only be thankful she doesn't change height or body mass all that much between her forms…
But she was now masculine, a woman stuck in the body of a young man. She was already sobbing. She knew.
“Sis, it’ll be okay…” Violet muttered, trying to console her.
“Remember, you’re still Scarlet,” Connor tried to remind her. “What you look like doesn’t define who you are.”
“I feel wrong!” Scarlet cried. It tore out everyone’s hearts, especially in that voice.
Brent spotted an opportunity to get dry. He pointed to it. “That restaurant! We can take refuge there!”
“But people will see me!” Scarlet cried.
“We’ll protect you, sweetie. We always have,” her mom reminded her.
Everyone nodded and huddled close around Scarlet, obscuring her from view. They shuffled into the restaurant, soaked to the bone. No matter what, they kept tight around Scarlet, who ducked down a little, like a turtle pulling into a shell.
A waitress caught their entrance. “Oh my gosh, did you all get caught in that!?” she exclaimed.
They nodded. Scarlet hid a little more.
“We all got drenched out there,” Mr. Martin replied. He turned to Scarlet, trying to think of what he could do for his poor daughter. “Scarlet here got the worst of it. It messed up her outfit and such, and she’s… Sensitive about her appearance.” He looked at Scarlet, who gave a nervous thumbs up of approval. “Is there somewhere where we can dry off that’s a little more private?”
The commotion caught the attention of the restaurant’s many patrons. Scarlet squirmed with so many eyes looking in her general direction…
“Sure thing! Please, if you can come with me,” replied the waitress. They nodded and followed her into the back.Two particular pairs of eyes were stuck on them. Teacher and apprentice, meeting for the first time since the student moved to Citadel Harbor. “Something about them seemed… Odd?” noted the student.
The teacher leaned forward. She had divined the answer already. “How so?”
“I swear they were huddled around someone with a Dark Magic signature. I saw the black aura…” replied the student, revealing her magical capabilities.
“That’s what I saw,” replied her teacher. “You’re getting good at that!”
“Hehe, thanks! Trial by fire, sometimes.” The student looked in the direction the family went. “I should say something, help them.”
“Ariel… I’m not sure this is something you’re ready for yet. I feel it. This is more complicated than your average curse,” Ariel’s teacher – Eris – suggested.
Ariel ignored her and stood up, still looking in their direction.
Eris sighed. “Yeah, I should have known better than to suggest that to you, of all people. If you’re that determined, I’ll come with you.”
Ariel smiled and nodded, and Eris joined her in standing up as their waiter came to them.
“Oh? Are you two leaving already? We haven’t even taken your order yet…” he asked, worried.
“Not at all! But Ariel here can’t leave anyone in distress without seeing if she could help,” Eris replied.
Ariel blushed and waved.
“Once we see what we can do for the group that just came in, we’ll return for our order,” Eris suggested.
The waiter nodded and returned to his rounds. Ariel and Eris made their way to the back. Meanwhile, the family was making use of paper towel rolls offered to them by the staff to dry themselves off. Scarlet locked herself into a large closet, away from prying eyes.
“Scarlet, sweetie, can you open the door?” her mom called out to her. “We have some towels you can dry off with…”
“N-no…” Scarlet muttered, barely audible through the door. “I-I’ll air d-dry…”
“What’s going on?”
The group turned to the soft voice. There were now a pair of women standing before them. One had blue eyes and red hair. She really didn’t look like anyone of note, just an average, everyday young woman. But the girl that spoke had a curious trait: almost gemstone-tone purple irises. Otherwise, they didn’t see anything about the two that looked out of the ordinary…
It just so happened that this was the first day in over a year that Ariel had worn anything other than one particular outfit in public. She would have stood out way more otherwise.
“We just got drenched by the storm. We should be good in a little bit,” Mr. Martin tried to deflect.
Violet heard a murmur from the door and leaned in. “Can you please make them go away?” she could hear Scarlet say, barely.
Ariel locked eyes with the door and walked up to it. She carefully placed her hand on it, her silver wrist ring tapping the door. “Hey, I’m not here to hurt you. My name is Ariel. What do you need?"
There was a long pause. No one knew what was going to come next. Ariel stared adamantly at the door.“D-dry towel?” Scarlet asked in a terrible falsetto.
“Sure thing!” Ariel replied. Mr. Martin attempted to hand Ariel his roll of paper towel. But to their astonishment, Ariel lifted her hand, and a towel materialized in it! The family took a startled step back.
“What the-“ Brent started quietly.
“Hell!?” Violet finished just as quietly.
“Should I hand this through the door, or…?” Ariel asked, completely ignoring the reactions. She was entirely focused on this suffering, sensitive soul.
The door popped open, but only for a moment. It closed after a quick second. “U-uh, j-just give me a m-minute…” Noise could be heard as Scarlet fiddled with some things in the closet. “O-okay, y-you can come in and l-leave it…”
Ariel nodded. “Alright, I’m coming in!” She opened the door. She could make out a figure peering at her with brown eyes from behind a shelf, obscured by all the objects. “What’s your name, miss?” she asked.
“S-Scarlet…”
“It’s a pretty name!” Ariel replied, smiling.
Scarlet eased slightly.
Ariel sensed it. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to judge you… Can you show me what you look like?”
Scarlet shook her head frantically.
Ariel started to sense why. “Well, take it from me, Scarlet: girls come in all shapes and sizes. And sometimes… In the wrong body. I know it personally.”
Scarlet perked up.
“So…?”
Scarlet stepped out, revealing her male form. She was blushing a deep red, still soaked from head to toe, dripping all over the floor. Her clothes looked tight in a few spots, like they were fitted to a slightly different body. Ariel smiled and handed Scarlet the towel. Scarlet smiled, took it, and started drying herself off.
Scarlet’s family, meanwhile, watched all of this with their jaws on the floor. No one had ever been able to draw Scarlet out when she spiraled like that. She was keen to hide until she could reactivate the curse.
“How…?” Mrs. Martin asked, not believing her eyes.
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