Metsu dropped down from the wall, tucking herself into the shadows. In the distance, a guard patrolled along the edge of the courtyard, armour clanking. Metsu slunk after, her careful footfalls soft echoes of the guard’s. After her past attempt to infiltrate the castle had failed in a spectacular (and embarrassing) fashion, she was determined that this attempt would be different. It had taken meticulous planning, calling in every favour she had with her allies, and being extra careful which would-be wizard she’d bought the potion from…

Tonight was the Earl’s ball, a night of pomp and revelry for the lords, ladies, and assorted nobility of the land. Courtiers and priests, magicians and wealthy patrons, and visiting dignitaries from across the continent would all be dining to excess. The castle was sure to be teeming with guests, musicians, and extra serving staff brought in for the occasion. A perfect night for a new face to go unnoticed amongst the crowd; especially one with a little magical assistance. It was also going to be night when most of the castle guards were going to be busy guarding the Earl and his company, leaving the castle vault (and all its treasured contents) relatively unguarded. 

Unfortunately for Metsu, she’d been relegated to “distraction duty.” Something about being a liability after her last attempt, even if that hadn’t been her fault, really. Her partners in crime would be doing the dirty work, already strategically positioned throughout the castle. Some infiltrating as servants or freshly hired guards, the rest waiting patiently in the shadows. Either way, their role was to be out of sight, and Metsu’s role was to be anything but. She was supposed to draw attention to herself, captivate the crows with her allure, anything that would make sure all eyes were on her, while the rest of the crew plundered the castle’s valuables. Maybe she’d knock over an ice sculpture, maybe cause a minor scandal, something innocent enough but sure to draw the guards’ attention away. As Metsu looked now, though, she was sure to attract all the wrong kind of attention, and getting thrown in a jail cell wasn’t going to help her or the heist. 

The Au Ra was dressed in trappings more suited for a scoundrel or thief than a party guest (probably because she was a scoundrel and a thief). Long, black leather boots covered her shapely legs, a rough brown belt straddled her hips, and an open black coat barely covered anything, her scaly tail gracefully curving out from under it. Perfect for sneaking into the castle, plenty of freedom to move and skulk through the shadows, just not a good look for what followed. For that, she had something of a party trick…

So she pulled out the potion bottle, a swirl of glittering gold and pink endlessly whirling around each other. The potion seller had been quite specific about what it would do to her, unlike the damned sorcerer who sold her the collar for her last attempt. It would give her the appearance and dress of a princess, dressed in her finery, guaranteed to be the belle of the ball. And, since Metsu was hardly suited to mingling in high society, the potion held a subtle enchantment giving Metsu the proper mannerisms and personality of someone born to nobility. The potion fizzed as Metsu uncorked it, motes of magic dancing up from the bottle. Whatever was in the potion, Metsu thought, it was probably going to be potent. Tipping the bottle to her lips, the Au Ra quickly drank it down. The fizz of magic danced on her tongue, its taste somewhere between roses and wine. Did all potions have tastes that echoed their magic, or was the potion crafter equally skilled in blending flavours? Either way, soon the bottle was empty. The potion tickled Metsu’s insides, gently warming her stomach as the magic worked its way into her body.

The sensation wasn’t unpleasant, but still gave Metsu the sense of her body being invaded, as though she was being subtly manipulated from within. Deep inside something churned as Metsu’s body began to change. She looked down at herself, half-afraid she’d see her skin already coated in latex, but for now… nothing. She found herself shifting from foot to foot, glancing at her body this way and that, anticipation building along with the magical warmth within her. After several moments of awkward glances she noticed a slight looseness in her boots, the leather not quite as tight as before. Was she starting to change, or had she just been stretching out the leather? Whatever the magic was doing it seemed pretty subtle, much to Metsu’s relief. Subtle was good. 

Along with the warmth, an ache started to grow in Metsu’s legs, working its way up from her feet. They’d begun to stretch out, muscles slimming down slightly, tendons protesting somewhat as her bones drew out longer. Soon it was clear her boots no longer fit her growing legs. Her toes started to curl against the stiff leather, as increasingly graceful legs emerged out from the top of them. Mercifully, the second part of the potion’s magic had started its work, as motes of light flickered and danced around the dull leather. The enchantment suffused the mundane material, starting to reshape it, much as it was already reshaping Metsu’s body. The tops of her boots seemed to unravel, strands of leather unwinding around her legs before fading into nothing. As the boots unspooled, Metsu’s transforming legs were revealed: slender and toned and nothing short of graceful, seeming to stretch on forever from her hips. 

“𝒪𝒽, 𝓂𝓎,” Metsu gasped, so caught up in staring at her shapely legs she almost missed the change in her voice, her ‘rough’ accent replaced with more cultured notes. She blinked a few times, “was that my voice?” Nope, plain old Metsu. Must’ve imagined it.

Still, she was definitely not imagining those new legs, or her magically reshaping boots. What remained had reformed into far daintier shoes to suit her daintier feet. Neat, black, pointed. Probably the latest fashion somewhere, Metsu thought, 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎'𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶 𝑔𝑒𝓂𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝓌𝑜… The thought came from nowhere, and vanished just as quickly. At least Metsu knew the potion was doing its work, so she might as well get into position.



Metsu walked briskly down the corridor, the firm heels of her shoes clacking against the stone floor, echoing against the walls. The edges of her jacket swayed about beside her. Was it her imagination, or were they swishing more than usual? She slowed — 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝒹𝑜 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝓁𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝓊𝓇𝓇𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉, 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓁𝓁 — and looked down. Her jacket was changing before her eyes, drawing out longer, wrapping around her. Leather flattened, growing thinner, a criss-cross of delicate lines emerging as it split into the myriad strands of finely woven silk. Much more like a princess, she had to admit, though it would take a bit of getting used to. With each step, Metsu felt her hips sway, her tail swinging behind her, with the silk of her dress swishing about with it.

The changes spread upwards, the leather around her torso changing into matching silk, wrapping around her waist. It squeezed tightly, perhaps a little too tightly, compressing her waist. Silk rippled down her arms, poofy silk almost billowing down in elegant sleeves. Then the material pulled back around her neck, plunging down, drawing back to better expose her chest… tastefully, of course. 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽 𝒶 𝓈𝓊𝒾𝓉𝑜𝓇'𝓈 𝑒𝓎𝑒.



“Hey, no!” Metsu whispered to herself, trying to banish the intrusive thought. She was just here to cause a distraction, not get herself wed to some eligible princeling… 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒾𝒻 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑔𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃. She tried to adjust the dress higher up, to cover up her chest a little more, but the fabric stubbornly shifted back down. Surely she looked enough like a princess now, right? She took a quick mental check of herself: still mostly the old Metsu, but… taller? More elegant and refined, perhaps. The dress wasn’t too showy, but the fine black silk seemed to complement her features nicely, helping the deep red of her hair stand out. Of course, it also helped accentuate her other assets… was it her imagination, or did they look even bigger than before?



“Alright, showtime,” Metsu reassured herself, smoothing out the dress slightly. Again, her footsteps echoed through the hallway, the sounds mingling with the chorus of genteel conversation and pleasant music coming from the great hall up ahead. Stepping through the side doors, she felt a brief flutter of doubt. Would someone notice the new arrival, sneaking in through the side way? Or would they assume she’d just taken a moment to clear her head, before returning to the party? The answer came in the form of a glass of something pink and bubbling, offered by one of the many servants. It seemed she’d been welcomed. Metsu was quick to down the crystal wine, barely registering the taste but grateful for anything that might take the edge off her nerves. Time to mingle.

(If Metsu had taken the time to read the potion’s instructions, she might have noticed the words “do not take with alcohol”.)

A bubbling, fizzing feeling churned away in Metsu’s stomach as she walked through the grand hall, offering polite greetings as she went even if she didn’t know who half of them were. Better for them to think they should know her, after all. Keeping an eye out for any suspicious guards, or valuables she might want to pocket later, should the opportunity arise. It was as she squeezed through a gaggle of ladies in waiting that Metsu noticed something was a little awry with her outfit, her dress catching against something. Looking down, it was billowing out much more than before, poofing up around her hips. Metsu tried to squash it back down, to smooth out the lines of the dress, but it only seemed to make it rise up even more. The fabric resisted her, pushing back, a rippling feeling against her thighs and tail as layer after layer of fabric emerged under the skirt. Lifting, adding volume, 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝒾𝓅𝓈. 

Metsu quickly ducked away into a quiet corner of the hall, still trying in vain to tame the dress. Clearly the potion was still working its magic, and showed no signs of stopping. Even the silk was changing, growing paler, the deep black fading into a light and fashionable shade of pink.

“Just great,” Metsu muttered, still trying to smooth out the dress. It felt like the more she pushed down, the more it rose up around her, gathering even more layers of frilly fabric under her skirt. They wrapped around her legs, smothering her thighs, making it harder to walk. She’d lost all sense of where her tail was, somewhere amongst all the layers of fabric, helping to add more volume to her derriere. Still, she knew she couldn’t just stay at the edge of the party. After all, what kind of distraction kept out of sight? 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝓊𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝒽𝓊𝓈𝒷𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔? 

There was that stray thought, again. The kind of thought one of these rich ladies might have, self-obsessed and self-important. Metsu frowned, trying to concentrate on it. Was it part of the potion’s doing? Helpful ‘advice’ to suit her new body? It felt like it was getting stronger, though, and more… dangerous? Another personality repeatedly forcing its way into her thoughts, as if trying to take over. It was bad enough the dress was rebelling, did she really have to hold onto her mind? 

Still, she had a job to do. If she focussed on that, she could hold onto her real self: the Metsu about to help rob these rich toffs. Then she could leave the castle, let the potion wear off, and blow off part of her cut on the first outfit caught her eye (anything to be out of this ridiculous dress, 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒾𝒻 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒻𝒶𝓈𝒽𝒾𝑜𝓃). She walked back to the party proper, feeling the dress shifting about around her. The dense fabric forced her to take smaller steps, hips swaying, plump derriere jiggling this way and that under the fabric. She could sense the magic still shaping her body. The warm ache in her bones as legs stretched out. The weight gathering, thighs swelling, flesh and fabric growing together as the dress ballooned out all around her. She barely noticed the extra adornments to her dress. Magic wove threads of fabric into graceful ribbons, draping them around the mountain of fabric. Music notes sounded as gemstones appeared, further adorning the dress, pushing it far past graceful elegance into a gaudy display of wealth. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝒶𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃, 𝒾𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒷𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉?

Metsu pushed the thought away and resumed her attempt at mingling, trying clumsily to ingratiate herself with the other guests. Something that seemed even harder now she had a mile of fabric all around her. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝒶 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝓇𝒶 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝑒𝓎𝑒, came the voice in her head, 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅…

Before Metsu had a chance to protest, a warmth spread across her chest. A sensation of weight and pressure. Whatever or whoever the voice was, it had become stronger, more assertive. Metsu’s flesh groaned and protested as her breasts swelled out, straining against the fabric of her dress, spilling over the top of it. Metsu gave out a quiet yelp, desperately clutching her hands to her chest, trying her best to ignore the thrill of pleasure coming from them. The more she held tight, the more the soft flesh squeezed around her fingers. The weight of her chest became almost too much, the fabric of the dress offering some relief as the magic retailored it. The fabric gathered beneath, supporting her chest, and lifting it up - only magnifying the depth of her cleavage. As if to reinforce itself, the same ribbons that gathered around her skirt now unfurled around the top. As the fabric emerged, the dress squeezed in a little more, helping a little more of Metsu’s now ample chest to spill over.



How is this helping? Metsu thought to herself, looking nervously around as more than a few party-goers were now glancing her way. Had they noticed she was changing, or were they more focused on her strange behaviour?

𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊? The voice came again. It was so much like Metsu’s own, echoing in her mind, just more cultured. More refined. 𝒩𝑜𝓌 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒, 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓊𝓃𝓁𝒶𝒹𝓎𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒. Metsu felt her arms move down to her sides, as though moving on instinct. Hands grabbed bundles of fabric, extending outwards as she leant down in a curtsy - putting her chest on full display, naturally. “𝐵𝑒𝑔 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒹𝑜𝓃,” she spoke, those cultured tones escaping her lips. The murmurs of the crowd died down, or at least turned away from thoughts of scandal to speculating who this mystery lady was. It was probably just the potion’s magic, weaving a sort of ‘pay no mind’ glamour, but Metsu wasn’t going to question it. She had enough to worry about. 

“Do you mind?” she whispered to her other self, straightening up and dropping the many folds of her dress. Rising up, she caught a glimpse of another amber jewel now adorning herself. Nestled perfectly between her breasts, it was only going to draw more attention to herself.



𝒩𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓁, 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇. The voice replied, 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝐼 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅 𝑜𝓊𝓉, 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝒾𝓉'𝐀𐃈𘀵𾐵𧀵񀰵𤠮.. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒'𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉, 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓁𝓁.

Metsu felt a warm blush spreading through her face, growing more intense with each passing moment. The sensation of fingertips carefully caressing her, nudging, tugging, tweaking her face. An unnerving feeling of her features shifting and changing. She glanced around, spotting a mirror, quickly making her way over to it. Her rushing steps faltered, catching on her dress, forcing her to lift up the front of her dress in perfect lady-like fashion. It was impossible for her to see, past the yards of delicate fabric, but musical chimes heralded the arrival of glowing gemstones atop her delicate shoes. Surely now, with a tasteful glimpse of ankle, even the simplest of steps was going to attract attention.

 As Metsu arrived at the mirror, she watched the invisible artist at work on her face: her features were longer, more elegant, perhaps a little more mature. Metsu had never cared much for make-up, yet now watched it appearing on her face, painted by some unseen hand. Deep purple shadow around her eyes, perfectly framing them. Lipstick drawing on her lips, lucious and red, perfect for kissing, 𝑜𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝑔𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈. Next her hair was changing, billowing out, growing thicker and longer and styling itself upwards. It rose up between her ears, now delicately pointed upwards, before cascading down around her horns, falling over her shoulders, the curve of her chest.



“𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒, 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉,” the other voice spoke, as Metsu turned this way and that. The line between the two was blurred, Adventurer and Princess joined into one, now admiring her form. Even the old Metsu wouldn’t have recognised the shapely figure before her, clad in the finest dress at the ball. Not that much was visible, of course, save for her bounteous breasts squeezed ever-so-tightly.  Perfect to draw some attention, and perfect for catching the eye of some promising husband-to-be.



“𝒩𝑜𝓌, 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇, 𝐼 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝓌𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶 𝒿𝑜𝒷 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑜.”

✧ 

High above, two thieves lurked in the shadows of the rafters, watching the crowd gathering around Princess Metsu, even as her impressive dress kept the most eager suitors at bay. She was a magnet for attention, drawing all eyes towards her. Even those meant to be keeping watch for intruders, say, up in the rafters.



“I guess we have our distraction,” one said to the other, gathering their tools, “what is she even doing?”

The other paused before replying. 

“I think she’s flirting with the Archbishop…”