Later that night, Candice entered her hotel room with Carol yawning behind her.

“Man, I’m tired,” the girl said. “Feels like it’s been days since I’ve slept.”

“Yeah,” Candice said, looking around the familiar room. “It’s been a long day.”

Everything seemed so small now. She noticed one of her tiny school uniforms was still laid out on a chair. Nearby, she saw her suitcase, which was full of other clothes that she had outgrown since she had last seen them.

“Well,” Carol said. “I’m taking a quick bath and going straight to bed.”

“I guess I’ll have a bath after you’re done,” Candice said. “I’m feeling a bit dirty still after everything I’ve been through.”

“See you in a little bit,” Carol said and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. A minute later, Candice could hear the water running in the tub.

***

Candice sat down on the bed to wait. It was then that she noticed that someone had neatly made the bed. She realized that must have been because the mattress had been replaced. She remembered waking up today in her own urine and calling for help. Had it really only been that morning? That experience felt like years ago. In some ways, she realized, it had been years ago, now. She had come a long way from being that little girl with a tiny bladder.

Candice looked down at her adult body. She had always wondered what it would feel like to be an adult. Now that she actually had the body, she found it was beyond anything she had imagined. She felt strong, but also delicate in some ways. Her breasts were surprisingly tender and seemed a bit loose and out of control compared to anything she had felt on her immature body. She hoped there would be time tomorrow to buy a bra. A little support would help. Already, she could feel a bit of soreness in her shoulders from the extra weight on her chest.

She lay on the bed and tried to relax the weight on her, but she could not ignore her body. It was so fresh and invigorated now. She put a hand on her crotch. She could feel the coarse pubic hair through her sweatpants. There was also a sensitivity there that was new to her. She gently ran her fingers over the fabric of her pants, tracing the shape of her vulva.

Part of her wanted to explore her mature body more deeply, but she reminded herself that she was not alone. Little Carol was just one door away. Besides, she thought, there will probably be time later on for that type of exploration.

“But, what if there won’t be?” she asked herself.

Her supervisors had given her only 48 hours until they were sending her home again, and that clock had started ticking hours ago now. She had less than two days left of potential free time with this body before they would send her back home to have her maturity stolen away from her again.

She cupped her large breasts and felt like crying. She imagined what it would be like to be thrown back into childhood again after experiencing this. There was no way she would ever be happy with her childish body ever again. Plus, she feared she would lose this body before ever being able to truly appreciate it. What a missed opportunity that would be. Certainly that regret would haunt her for a long time.

She thumped her fists on the bed. She wanted to scream. She started to consider ways that she might avoid going back to the North Pole. She could fake being sick. She could injure herself, maybe break a toe.

She could run away.

“Like Mary,” she said to herself, realizing she understood the renegade elf more than she was willing to admit most of the time.

That would be the only surefire way to avoid going back to her glamour. It would also mean becoming a fugitive, an outlaw from her people. Just like with Mary, they would try to track her down as well. How long would she last? As long as Mary lasted? Longer?

“No,” she said. “I care too much about people to do what she’s done.”

Mary had kept ahead of them because she was willing to do anything to escape, no matter who got hurt along the way. Candice knew one thing about herself, she was not willing to do what Mary had done, which meant that she would not get as far. She truly had no options. She was going back. Her adulthood would be over far too soon.

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” she said. “It won’t last long.”

She heard the sound of a hair dryer coming from the bathroom, and she groaned. Her time alone was up already. A couple of minutes later the bathroom door opened and Carol stepped out wearing a pair of her kids hand-me-down pajamas. “All done,’ she said. “Your turn.”

“Right,” Candice said.

Carol noticed the sad tone of Candice’s voice. “What’s the matter?”

“I was just… I don’t know… thinking about the future a little too much. It won’t be long before I have to go back. No matter what I do, they’re going to put the glamour back on me.”

“I see,” Carol said, she climbed up on the bed and lay down next to Candice. “Well, there’s always the chance that things can change in the future. They might put the glamour back on you, but you may be able to convince them to take it off again later. The world changes. Hell, it’s changed a lot for humans just in the past year. It could change for elves too. You could lead that change. Start a movement, petition to revolutionize the way your society works.”

Candice smiled. “Those are some big words.”

“I’m precocious,” Carol said. “And, I’m understanding more and more what life has been like for you. No adult should be forced to live like this. You know that now. Take that knowledge and use it to fuel some change in your society.”

Candice nodded. “I guess that’s my only option.”

“And,” Carol added. “Try to enjoy what you have while you have it.”

“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to do that,” Candice said. “Not with… this situation.”

“Oh,” Carol said. “That’s easy. Go take a shower. I’ll put the TV on and turn it up nice and loud.”

“But,” Candice said and blushed. “I don’t really know… you know... how to do it, even though I want to.”

“Ah,” Carol said. “Well, there’s a handheld shower head in there. If you play around with the settings on that, then I think that will do the trick.”

“Where do I…?”

“Anyplace where it feels good,” Carol said. “It’s a little different for everyone. You just need to do a bit of exploring. After that… well, just enjoy yourself.” She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. “I’ll find something noisy to watch. You get yourself cleaned up.”

“O-okay,” Candice said, smiling. She got out of bed, walked into the bathroom, shut the door, stripped naked, and stepped into the shower.

Then, she began trying to learn how to masturbate.

She adjusted the warmth of the spray and started by shampooing her hair and soaping up her body. She found that just the act of rubbing soap over her new curves was turning her on. She found herself loving her body, every beautiful inch of it. She needed to show her love for it, to treasure it and caress it like it deserved. She took the shower head and began rinsing off her smooth skin. She tried out the different settings on the shower head, letting it pulse and jet against her. She aimed it at herself in different areas at different distances. Soon, she found the right combination of places and settings. She let her other hand massage herself as the spray stimulated her. Fondling and stimulating herself, she felt something growing in her, a pleasure like she had never known before. It was almost frightening how strong it was. As the sensation kept growing and growing, she lost control of her breath and began moaning. She felt something approaching, like a waterfall on a river. The feeling sped up, and she felt herself tipping over the edge. Then, she was in freefall as her body was bathed in pure ecstasy. This is magic, she realized in that moment of intense pleasure. This is real magic, she thought, and it was beautiful. Her body shuddered, and she felt as if her legs were about to give out. She leaned against the tiles to keep her balance as the orgasm slowly faded away. She regained control of her breath and returned the friendly shower head to its perch. She slumped to the floor of the shower and let the warm spray rain down on her. She smiled.

“They can never take that from me,” Candice announced to herself and the world. “It happened. They can never take that away.” Her tears mixed with the shower water and rinsed over her body and down the drain.

***

Later, when Candice joined Carol in bed, neither woman said a word about what had happened in the shower. They both knew, but aside from a pleasant little smile there was nothing else they had to share about the experience. Instead, they just set their alarms and exchanged a brief “Goodnight” and lay down to rest.

Immediately after their heads hit their pillows, both of them felt their exhaustion overcome them at last, and they fell into a deep dreamless sleep.