“Festivals just aren’t the same anymore…” Helena sighed, looking around the fair at the crowds of people enjoying themselves amongst the rides and attractions, coloured lights glittering off colourful balloons and well-won stuffed toys, “where’s all the violence, the wine, where’s the blood sport?” Perhaps, she wondered, being a millennia-old sorceress gave her a different perspective on things.
She walked through the crowd, trying to make sense of it all, the appeal of the sickening pink clouds of sugar, the shining balloons bobbing around, deliberately scaring yourself in some trite ‘haunted’ house or metal chariot. Still, perhaps she could find her own fun…
Lya was having the time of her life. Half-giddy from the last roller coaster (and more than a little candy floss) she was already looking for the next attraction. Moving through the crowd, past the different stalls and games, her eyes caught a glimpse of a figure in the shadows between two tents. There was something strange and alluring about her, the figure’s carved features and white robe looking like she belonged more on the side of an ancient temple than at a carnival. And yet Lya felt herself drawn to the figure, stepping closer, lost in her golden eyes…
“Aren’t you a curious thing?” the figure spoke, her voice like music from a harp, reaching out a hand to gently brush against Lya’s face. Lya couldn’t help but blush a little at Helena’s touch, feeling her cool skin against her own, “are you enjoying the festival?”
“I am…” was about all Lya could reply, words catching in her throat. Something about Helena was entrancing her, the shine of her eyes, the way her golden hair seemed to drift about in an unseen wind as if it was alive.
“It’s my first time here, and I was wondering if you could help me with something,” Helena’s voice echoed through Lya’s mind, a subtle suggestion to draw her in. The sorceress looked over the human before her, taking her in, pausing at the brilliant red heart on her shirt. “I’d love to know why you all love these balloons so much, could you help me with that?”
“Er, sure, yeah,” Lya stammered a little, still so curious about her, blushing a little at the attention.
“Perfect,” Helena’s lips curled into a smile, whispering some words Lya could barely make out before a tingle shot through her body, her skin crackling with static electricity.
Lya yelped slightly, stepping back. “What the heck was that?” She could feel the chill of the night air across her skin, every inch of her body feeling so sensitive, trying to shake the sensation away.
“Oh, just a little spell,” Helena teased, smirking as she watched her magic take effect, “I’m afraid I’ve no money to buy balloons, so I thought I’d make my own.”
“Make your own-” Lya started to reply, the confusion only growing as the tingling intensified, her thoughts stalled by a strange pinching, tensing feeling in her hands.
Looking down, she could see her hands starting to shift and change, skin starting to shine, reflecting back the dozens of lights strung against the night sky, her skin looking redder with each passing moment. Scared, she brought her hands up to her face, watching her fingers swell and press into each other, skin squeaking against itself as she tried to move her fingers. Pressing her hands together, her skin just crumpled and wrinkled together, feeling nothing but air inside her changing hands. Beneath her shirt, she felt her chest starting to swell slightly, squeaking and shifting under the fabric.
“What are you doing to me?” Lya cried, her voice high and strained, as much from panic as it was the helium starting to fill the inside of her body. Her hands continued to swell, the shape of her fingers almost completely lost as her skin expanded and stretched, every slight move sending shivers of pleasure through her tightening skin. She could feel her skin pinching in at places as they creaked and groaned, the pressure of helium straining at newly formed seams, forcing her hands out into gleaming love hearts.
“Don’t worry, you’re just becoming a few balloons for me…” Helena’s voice seemed to sing through the air, vibrations carrying in Lya’s changing skin. She could feel her whole body shivering in time, the rest of her skin stretch out under her clothes, the pressure spreading through her body. The alien sensation was strangely pleasant and calming despite everything that was happening to Lya. Tiredness spread through her, Lya’s arms and legs barely able to move, her body creaking and groaning with every moment. She thought she might collapse completely if it weren’t for the buoyant feeling of helium inside her, tugging her faintly upwards.
“B-balloons?” Lya’s voice squeaked, her own voice shivering through her body. She glanced down at her hands again, squeaking in surprise as one suddenly popped free from her body. Lya felt a giddy, freeing sensation as it drifted away from her, bobbing about in the cool air. For a moment she imagined it might float away forever until with a twang it jerked to a stop. A string that might have been her arm snapping taut, the sudden shock carrying through the rest of her body.
Yelping with surprise, Lya watched as her other hand drifted free, her clothes starting to slump over her changing body. One after another, she could feel parts of her splitting away, another heart-shaped balloon drifting free from the rest of her, balloons that were once her chest slipping up and out from her shirt. The only part of her that didn’t feel like it was floating away was her right foot, feeling like a leaden weight compared to the rest of her, tugged up each and every time one of her balloons slipped free from the rest of her body.
“Quite a few balloons, by the look of it,” Helena couldn’t help but giggle a little, watching more and more of them spill out of Lya’s crumpling clothes, so little of the human left now.
Lya could feel her head starting to rise, so little of her old body left that wasn’t string or balloons. The feeling of helium pressing out inside her head grew stronger, flattening her features against her face as the same metal sheen spread though her hair, flattening it against the rest of her. She tried to speak, to move, to do anything except rising up into the cloud of gleaming red balloons. Her vision drifted about as she bobbed amongst them, every bump into another balloon sending a cascade of pleasant shivers through her taut skin, the tug of the string that was once her neck. Lya found herself drifting round, catching her reflection in another part of herself, a cartoonish face grinning back at her.
“There! How do you feel? Good?” Helena stepped closer, smiling at the bunch of balloons Lya had become, finally beginning to understand the appeal of them. Lya’s face just bobbed about, nodding faintly in the breeze. Tugging aside the remains of Lya’s clothes, she pulled out the last part of Lya’s body, her foot transformed into a coiled serpent of solid plastic, the only thing keeping the rest of Lya from floating away into the night sky.
Lya wished she could say anything, delighting in the feelings and sensations of being a bunch of balloons. As Helena lifted up the weight keeping herself down, Lya felt a rush of exhilaration as she drifted weightlessly into the sky before her strings snapped taut, sending a cascade of vibrations through her body. With each step Helena took, Lya drifted along behind her, bumping and crashing into herself. The gentle breeze kept her balloons bobbing and spinning, a wonderful and dizzying view of the fair, and the friends searching for her.
“Friends of yours?” Helena asked, voice soft, setting Lya’s skin shivering again, “well, I wouldn’t want to keep you from them…” the sorceress smirked before reaching into the bundle of balloons, pulling part of Lya free and offering it to the first of Lya’s friends. Lya couldn’t help but watch as balloon after balloon was given out to the passing crowd, until only her face remained, still grinning out at the fair.
“Don’t worry, you’ll change back once the night is over,” Helena reassured her, setting off in search of her next entertainment, “though I hope none of them manages to pop part of you…”