Lucy didn't know what to do, but she knew she had to do something.
She crept around the campsite, attempting to get to the other side where
Mason was bound. Perhaps if she could free him, there would still be
away to break the spell.
As she approached the tree where Mason was tied, a twig snapped.
"So the little wench has come to save her beau at last,"
the sorceress said as she stood up.
Lucy tried to run, but her body was frozen in place.
"Don't bother trying to escape. That little item you stepped on
was a stopstick. Very useful little spell, I must say. Once a creature
breaks the twig and releases the magic, they cannot move for at least
a few hours. It almost makes guard duty unnecessary."
"What is it you want from me?" Lucy asked, surprised that
her mouth could move when the rest of her was frozen.
"Oh, don't worry. I won't hold you forever. You'll be kept only
until Mason changes completely, and then I'll let you go. You can thank
me later for saving you from your future with this irresponsible brat."
Mason pulled harder against his bonds.
"I won't let you do this," Lucy growled. "I'll feed
Mason with my own blood until I find a way to cure him, and then I'll
hunt you down like the dog you are."
The sorceress chuckled as she approached the immobile girl. "You're
the one in heat, Lucy. Honestly, what kind of girl tromps off naked
into the forest like that?"
Lucy spat in her face.
The sorceress's cool visage turned pink. She took a napkin out from
her dress and wiped her face. "Well, if that's how you want things
to go, so be it. I have no choice but to turn you into the animal that
you most represent."
"Leave her alone," Mason yelled. "She doesn't deserve
this."
"Oh yes she does," the woman said with a grin. "She's
proven herself to be quite the bitch."
The sorceress waved her hands and chanted something that sounded like
a cross between a cricket's chirping and a wolf howling. Sparks flew
from her fingertips and engulfed Lucy's body.
Lucy stared at the woman, feeling her sense of self slipping away.
"Hunt her down, Lucy," she whispered as pain ripped through
her body. "Embrace the beast she's made you become."
As the transformation completed, Lucy's instinct took over. She knew
only one thing. That woman was her prey. Lucy lunged at her, the stopstick
spell broken by the reshaping of her body.
The sorceress wasn't ready for the attack. Lucy knocked her down and
took her neck between her powerful jaws. She bit down.
There was a shriek and a snap, and then it was over.
Lucy woke up to find her head in Mason's lap. He was holding her and
stroking her hair. The sun shone brightly. The last of her flowers bloomed
behind him.
"Are we dead?" she whispered.
Mason smiled. "Hardly. You killed the sorceress, and in doing
so, broke all of the spells that she had cast. You became human again,
as did I."
Lucy smiled and stared into his eyes, marveling at how much she had
missed being able to see them. Then she looked down to his human toe.
"I suppose I shall have to find a new housekeeper," she said
as she wiggled it.
Mason grinned. "Well, I might be able to help out there. I'm sure
your father wouldn't want you to be all alone in the house. It might
be dangerous."
"Yes. Absolutely. Far too dangerous for a young girl to be without
a guardian," Lucy said as she sat up. "Who knows what kind
of animal might be lurking in the bushes, ready to prey on a gentle
young thing such as myself."
Mason rolled his eyes and stood up. He offered her his hand.
"Better to live with the beast you know, rather than the beast
you don't, huh?"
Lucy smiled and took his hand. "Just as long as you don't prove
to be the blood sucker that Miss Scuttlebottom made you out to be."
"Or you the b-"
Lucy kissed him deeply and passionately like they had before. Even
without the enhancements from the spells, it was still magical.
