Control, But Less Than Full

"Oh my, are we still here?"

"Mmmm, it looks that way," Astra said, stretching. "I wonder if there are any men around here who - who - uhhh."

"What's wrong? You're acting very - very = huh?! What's happening? Why - how - no! I remember!"

Astra shook her head, then stood up straight. "As do I. Xyllis! Xyllis, are you here?"

"I am, child," Cyllis said, stepping up from behind them.

"Xyllis, please, you have to believe us - we are who we say we are!"

Xyllis shook her head sadly. "No, my dear. It's quite clear, both to the eye and to my magicks, that Princess Astra is in the royal court. You are not her, nor is your companion a male knight from Allaria - you are simply two quite deluded bawdy girls who will soon return to your proper occupation."

"You tried to do something to us, though," said Fred, "And it didn't work. Isn't that proof?"

Raising an eyebrow, Xyllis simply went to the door and said, "Dornas, you may enter now."

After a moment, a man entered the room. Dornas was a courier for Queen Helia's court, a strapping young man with a handsome face and a charming smile. "I'm here, Miss Xyllis," he said. "What is it you need."

As he entered, a change came over Fred and Astra. They blinked, then their expressions altered, becoming an enticing and welcoming smile. Their body language became less stiff and more pronouncedly feminine. All thoughts were driven from their heads as they focused entirely on the new arrival.

"Ooh, who's this then?" Astra cooed.

"My, you're a big one, aren't you?" Freda giggled. "Are there more like you around?"

"I hope so," Astra said. "I could learn to like this place."

"Miss Xyllis?" Dornas said, confused. "What are they doing here?"

"Never mind that, lad," she said, shooing him outside. "Why don't you wait outside for a minute?"

Dornas left, still unsure of what was going on, with the two women (bawdy girls, he was sure) continuing to try to lure him over by word and action. A moment after he left the room, though, the two of them staggered for a moment, and then stood back up.

"By - by the King's beard," Freda - now Fred again - exclaimed, more shaken than he would have cared to admit, "What just happened?"

"A solution," Xyllis said. "When you're in the presence of a man, your true instincts will take over and you will behave as you really are. Of course, when you are only around other women, your madness will reassert itself - but more and more as time goes by, that will fade. Eventually, your minds will right themselves, and these fantasy lives you've concocted for yourselves will be fade and reality will be restored."

"No. Oh no, please..."

"Calm yourself, child - soon everything will be all right."

1. Astra tries to convince Xyllis that she's made a mistake.
2. Xyllis calls Dornas back into the room, and instructs him to take the girls to a local bawdy house.
3. Xyllis calls Dornas back into the room, and instructs him to take the girls to a bawdy house in another land.
4. Just then, "Princess Astra" entered the room.
5. Just then, Vincent, looking quite disheveled and upset, materializes.

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