The Changeling Princess

by Jackie Shirley

  Wade sat up in his chair. “Who’s there?”

  “Ohhhhh, it is I, the ghost of Christmas past. You have been a very, very bad boy.”

  Wade was laughing so hard he almost fell out of his chair. “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “You are, Janis. When you floated into the room, I thought you were impersonating Smoky the Bear.”

  I morphed back to my human form. “How did you know it was me? My parents couldn’t pick up my scent.”

  “There are a lot of strange things happening to me and I think my senses have gotten more powerful. When did you discover you could assume the form of a Mist?”

  “A little over an hour ago,” I said. “It was quite a surprise.”

  “I can imagine. I was wondering, Janis. You haven’t had any problems with your eyes, have you?”

  “What kind of a problem?”

  “I have a strange itching sensation. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s irritating.”

  “You probably have the same itching sensation I had. I discovered I’ve acquired the power to generate an energy beam. I put it to a test and I think it’s powerful enough to burn through solid steel.”

  “Whoa, that’s pretty strong. Jeez, it’s a good thing I didn’t do any testing around the house. Do you have any idea why we were given these powers?”

  “I think we’ve been selected.”

  “Selected for what?” Wade asked.

  “I don’t know for sure. If I’m an Ivarr, maybe we’re supposed to be a team. You know, like the “Batman and Robin” thing we joked about before.”

  Wade suddenly turned serious. “I haven’t been completely truthful with you, Janis.”

  I sensed Wade was struggling with his emotions. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  “Yes. I lied to you when I told you my father had been transferred out of the country. The truth is, I haven’t seen my father since I was twelve years old. I guess I was ashamed and I didn’t want you to know.”

  “That’s really sad, Wade, but I’m glad you told me. We can’t pick our parents, so we have to make do with what we’ve got.”

  Wade nodded his head. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “Now I have a confession to make. I think you’re the kindest, sweetest, most sincere guy I’ve ever met. If I was a normal girl, I’d probably be throwing myself at you, hoping you’d notice me.”

  “I don’t know what to say after that.”

  “Don’t say anything. We don’t have time for a relationship because we have a lot of work ahead of us. I have a secluded place in the mountains where we can go to practice our skills. Not to change the subject, but what happened to that police receiver you were building?”

  “I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but I’ll start working on it.”

  “Okay, let me know when it’s finished.”

  “You’ll be the first to know.”

  “I’ve got to get going.”

  “I hope you have a nice flight home.”

  I grinned. “You’re a funny guy, Wade.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Grandma greeted me with a big smile when she answered her door. “Come on in, Janis, It’s nice that we can have another talk.” I was carrying a steel bar, one inch in diameter. Grandma looked at the steel bar, but she didn’t say anything.

  Grandma sat down with me in the living room with her hands folded in her lap. “What is it you wanted to discuss, Janis?”

  “I’ve acquired some new powers and I wanted to talk to you about them.”

  “What kind of powers are we talking about?”

  I morphed into a Mist and hovered over the sofa. “Good heavens, Janis! I never expected anything like that. Can you move about freely in the room?”

  I floated up near the ceiling and circled around the room. Then I returned to the sofa and morphed back to my human form. “That’s beyond belief,” said Pauline.

  “I haven’t shown you everything, Grandma.” I held onto her hand and morphed into a Mist again. I could hear grandma breathing hard as I took her on a quick trip around the house. When we returned to the sofa, I let go of her hand and she instantly became visible. Grandma looked as if she’d seen a ghost.

  “That was the most astonishing thing I ever done. In fact, it was kind of thrilling.”

  I morphed back to my human form. “I have a couple more things to show you, Grandma.”

  Grandma leaned back on the sofa. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  When I morphed into Wonder Woman, I could tell that Grandma was pleased. “Wonder Woman was my favorite heroine when I was a little girl,” she said. “I guess I was stunned because you look so beautiful.”

  I morphed back to Janis French and picked up the steel bar I’d brought with me. “Are you going to use the steel bar to show off your strength, Janis?”

  I nodded my head and held the steel bar at arm’s length. Then I proceeded to bend the bar until the ends were touching each other. Then I began bending the bar back and forth at a fast speed. The middle of the bar turned red and eventually broke into two pieces, and I wasn’t even sweating.

  “Good heavens, Janis! Do you realize the kind of power you have at your disposal? Your strength doesn’t have anything to do with Wonder Woman, does it?”

  “No, Grandma. When I morph into Wonder Woman, I’m so weak that I can barely stand up.”

  “It’s probably because Wonder Woman isn’t real.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Just be careful with your newfound strength. You could hurt someone without even realizing it.”

  “I realize that, Grandma. There’s one last thing that’s going to blow you away.”

  “After what I’ve just seen, I don’t think I can be impressed any further.”

  “Maybe not, but we’ll have to use your backyard. I can’t demonstrate this new power in your house.”

  “Now you’ve really got me scared.”

  I followed Grandma into the backyard and had her stand off to the side so she was safely out of danger. I walked over to the trash, removed the cover and threw it straight up into the air. I focused on the cover and fired off a pair of low-level energy bolts. The trash can cover twisted in the air like it had been hit with a high-powered rifle.

  “What was that?” Pauline asked breathlessly.

  “Those were energy beam bullets, Grandma. Watch closely because I’m going to narrow my beam to a thin laser.”

  I retrieved the cover and threw it up into the air again. Using my energy beam, I made one clean sweep across the cover, cutting it in half. “My new energy beam is really versatile, Grandma. I can adjust the power all the way down to room temperature and I can widen the range and use it like a flashlight.”

  Grandma looked bewildered. “Let’s go back into the house, Janis. I think I need to sit down.”

  Seated in the living room, Grandma repeated her theory that I was being groomed to be a warrior. “I still think you’re being given the tools to fight a great battle. Nothing else makes sense.”

  “If that’s true, when do you think it’ll happen?”

  “That’s hard to say. It could be a year or it could be five years. You may receive additional powers or your existing powers may be magnified. In the meantime, learn to control these powers to the best of your ability. My only regret is that you’re growing up much faster than you should. You’re going to be missing out on a lot of the fun that most teenagers experience.”

  * * *

  It was the last school dance before the end of the school year. Wade and I were double-dating with Sherri and Bruce. Bruce was old-fashioned because he decided he should drive. He didn’t think that a girl should be a chauffeur.

  The dance was held in the school gymnasium and it was packed. They had a young rock band and that made the kids happy. Sometimes the bands were composed of older musicians who didn’t play any rock at all. Their idea of “hot tunes” were old standards such as “Five Foot Two” and “Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy.�
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  “I like the band,” Sherri shouted over the noise. “I think they’re groovy.”

  I didn’t say anything, but I think they stopped using word “groovy” when my mother was a teenager. We walked over to where the band was playing. The stage was mobbed and everyone screamed their lungs out when a new song was played.

  The band played a medium fast tune called “Kansas City. Wade looked at me and took my hand. “May I have this dance?”

  I smiled and Wade led me to the dance floor. I had never been much of a dancer, but my coordination had improved a hundred percent since I’d inherited my new powers. Once we were on the dance floor, I did a pretty good job of keeping up with Wade. The old Janis French would have stumbled all over the dance floor.

  “You’re a really good dancer, Janis.”

  “Let’s just say I had a good teacher.”

  We stayed on the dance floor to see what the band would play next. When they played “Sea of Love” I melted into Wade’s arms. Wade had an effect on me that I couldn’t put into words. I just closed my eyes and enjoyed my fantasy.

  We had a great time and ended up at a local pizzeria. We stuffed ourselves on sausage and pepperoni pizzas until we couldn’t eat another bite. When Bruce drove us home, he dropped Wade and me off at my house and Wade walked me to the front door.

  “I had a wonderful time, Wade.”

  Wade didn’t answer and took me into his arms. It was the first time I’d ever been kissed and my imagination was getting the better of me. I was still holding my breath when we parted.

  “Goodnight, Janis. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight, Wade. I’m looking forward to it.”

  I left the door ajar until Wade was out of sight. I took a deep breath and sighed as I slowly closed the door. I wanted a closer relationship with Wade, but I had to set my feelings aside. We were being called on for a greater destiny and changing course wasn’t in the book.

  I woke the kitties up when I walked into my bedroom. Did you have a good time? Missy asked.

  I had the most wonderful night of my entire life. I just hated to see it come to an end.

  CHAPTER 11

  School was out for the summer and the temperature was in the eighties. I was invited to a pool party at the home of Anna Milburn, a girl in my history class whose parents were extremely wealthy. Anna was a nice girl, but I felt sorry for her because she had a crush on Bruce Dalton. Not being a Changeling, poor Anna didn’t stand a chance against Sherri. As we used to say in the sixties, “That’s the way the cookie crumbles.”

  I called Wade to see if he was going to the pool party. He sounded like he was tired when he answered the phone. “I didn’t get you out of bed, did I?”

  “No, I’ve been working on the police receiver and I was up late. What can I do you out of?”

  “You’re so cute. I’m calling to see if you’re going to Anna Milburn’s pool party.”

  “No, I don’t know how to swim and I’m not comfortable around water.”

  “That’s a bummer. Maybe I could supervise if you want to play around in the shallow end of the pool.”

  “Now you’re the one who’s being cute.”

  “I take it that’s still a no?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “What would you think of my picking you up at eight o’clock tomorrow morning? We could take a trip to up to the mountains and practice our skills together.”

  “I think that’s a great idea. I’ll be ready.”

  * * *

  I drove slowly through the front gates of the Milburn estate. Their house looked like a Southern mansion with a six-pillar veranda extending across the front of the house. I followed the winding road until I came to a parking area filled with cars. The path from the parking lot to the swimming pool was easy to follow. All you had to do was follow the sound of the music and the kids thrashing around in the pool. Anna always threw great parties and everyone wanted to be invited. She played the clarinet in the school band and that’s how Sherri and I got invited.

  The pool was packed when I arrived. At the far end of the pool was a table with refreshments and a keg of beer. I was surprised to see beer was being served because we were all underage. There was a lifeguard on duty, but I sensed his real purpose was to make sure that no one got out of line.

  I spotted Billy Sims sipping on a beer and being his normal obnoxious self. He wasn’t wearing swim trunks and he had a cute remark for every girl who walked by. I went to the bath house to change into my bathing suit. I had a pretty good figure and I had a new two piece bikini that was pretty revealing.

  Once I got to the bath house, I began having mischievous thoughts. Why not have a little fun? I asked myself. I hadn’t used my morphing abilities for entertainment and I was in the mood to do something devilish. “Where is it written that an Ivarr can’t have a little fun once in a while?” I muttered with a giggle.

  The first thing I did was increase my height to six feet tall. Then I made my legs a little shapelier and made my bust a little larger so the guys would sit up and take notice.

  I increased the length of my hair down to my waist and changed the color to jet black. I was thinking along the lines of an Egyptian princess, so I made my neck a tad longer and raised my cheek bones. For the finishing touch, I made my face narrower and gave myself a deep suntan.

  I changed into my two piece bathing suit and then stood back and viewed myself in the mirror. My bathing suit didn’t leave anything to the imagination and I had more curves than a winding road. I was still sixteen, but now I was a six foot tall raving beauty that was going to have the attention of everybody at the pool.

  I left the bathhouse and walked along the pathway beside the pool. Everyone was staring at me, so I shut out any embarrassing thoughts that the guys were thinking about me.

  I realized I was being followed, so I turned around and smiled at the four boys who were directly behind me. I fluttered my eyelashes and asked, “You boys aren’t lost, are you?” They acted like they just happened to be walking the same direction, but it was obvious they were embarrassed.

  When I came to the area where Billie Sims was standing, he took one look at me and his jaw dropped open. “Hello, beautiful! I’ve never seen you before. What are you drinking?”

  I put forth my sexiest smile. “I’d like a beer, if it’s not too much trouble.”

  The beer keg was close by, so Billy made a quick trip and fetched me my drink. “Here you are, beautiful. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

  “Some things are worth waiting for, especially when the guy’s a real hunk.”

  “Listen, baby, I’m the boss hog around here and today is your lucky day.”

  “My, my! You’re really something, aren’t you? 1 bet you have more girlfriends than you can count.”

  “That’s right, baby. When you travel with me, you’re traveling in the fast lane.”

  I thought I was going to be sick to my stomach. Billy had the largest ego of any guy I’d ever met. I should have just walked away, but I was still feeling devilish.

  Billy was so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that I was leading him towards the edge of the pool. He had gone from being conceited to being downright nasty, so I decided that it was time to shut him up. I positioned Billy two feet from the edge of the pool and then shouted so that everyone could hear me. “Fifty dollars! You’re offering me money?” And then I slapped Billy and pushed him into the pool. I acted insulted as I turned and walked toward the bath house to morph back into Janis French. This was a pool party I was never going to forget.

  I returned to the pool wearing my bikini. I walked up to Sherri and Bruce, who were stretched out on lounge chairs. “How’s it going?” I asked.

  “Janis!” Sherri squealed. “I love your new swim suit. Did you just get here?”

  “Better late than never.”

  “You missed all the action,” said Bruce. “A gorgeous brunette in a bikini was propo
sitioned by Billy Sims. She not only turned him down, she slapped him and pushed him into the pool.”

  “I would have liked to have seen that.”

  “You should have seen this broad,” said Sherri. “She looked like a goddess she was so darn beautiful. Some girls have all the looks.”

  Bruce looked at Sherri. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re just as good looking as that brunette, maybe even better.”

  Sherri looked at me and grinned. “Don’t you love it when a guy lies to you to make you feel good? That’s why Bruce is my guy. He always says the right things.”

  I smiled at Bruce. “You’re just a great big teddy bear, aren’t you?”

  Bruce grinned. “I’ve never been called a teddy bear before.”

  I told Sherri and Bruce I’d see them later and went for a swim. Billy Sims was nowhere to be found, so I figured he left the party. I should have felt guilty about what I’d done, but I didn’t. Maybe I’d even have another beer and live it up a little.

  CHAPTER 12

  I was reading the evening paper when I glanced at the television listing for the evening. I noticed that Stagecoach, the 1939 classic with John Wayne was listed for seven o’clock. This was Missy’s favorite movie. “What are you watching on television tonight, Mom?”

  “Nothing, Janis. Your father’s working late tonight and I have a lot of sewing to catch up on.”

  I rushed upstairs to give Missy the good news. Guess what, girls? Stagecoach is on television tonight!

  Missy perked up. You’re kidding?

  Is that good? Izzy asked.

  Is that good? Missy replied. Stagecoach is the best cowboy movie ever made. How much longer before it starts?

  About an hour, I answered.

  Missy was prancing back and forth on the foot of the bed. Can’t you change time, Janis, so we don’t have to wait so long?

  I’m sorry, but I don’t have that kind of power.

  We’ll just have to wait, said Izzy.