The water closed over Midge's head, and she felt a flash of panic. Her eyes closed instinctively, bringing familiar darkness; her breath caught and held in her throat. She didn't want to drown, or be sent somewhere again.

But she felt only the lap of cool water against her bare skin, caressing her toes and sending her hair floating up from her shoulders. Her lungs burned faintly, but she felt so calm, so relaxed, that she forgot why she had to hold her breath at all and inhaled.

Water flooded into her mouth, her nose, invading her body, and she waited for the pain to burst into her lungs.

The feeling never came. It was only a refreshing breath, a crisp sensation in her lungs that felt invigorating, as if health was pouring into her with each gulping breath of fresh water. She took a few more wondering breaths and felt a jolt; a tingling zap of desire snaked its way through her stomach and dissipated into flutters through her whole body.

She had never felt this before. The tingling began to build, a sensation as pleasurable as it was unsettling, and she wanted to spread her arms and legs and become one with the water itself.

Her heart pounded and she thrust herself up to the surface again in one smooth kick, bursting free of the rippling swimming pool and placing her foot on the rustic stone step that led to the shallow end.

"You did it!" Rita cheered from the edge of the pool. Her small, half-furred body was bare, soft, golden-tanned breasts bouncing lightly as she jumped and clapped her hands. "It worked, I think. Your skin is almost blue. It's so pretty! Are you all right?"

Midge glanced down at herself, lifting both arms and resting her palms on the surface tension of the water. Her pale grey skin had shifted in tone to match the gorgeous turquoise of the water around her.

She chuckled and sent a splash toward Rita. "You were right, as usual."

Not only was her skin different in color, but the texture was plump and healthy, and when she lifted one wet hand to brush across the back of the other, it had a pleasant springy texture that surprised her.

"I knew it, I knew it," Rita chanted, skipping back on her heels. "Get out and let's see how long it lasts. Maybe you should start sleeping in the pool."

Midge climbed out of the split swimming pool to the water that cascaded over the shallow partition, then followed along the partition to the edge of the swimming pool and stepped out onto the warm, dry stone deck surrounding the water. The whole pool was set in the very center of the village, so Midge could watch the pleasant movements of the residents while she waited for her skin to dry. Three women and two men were gardening together, tending to a large patch of yellow corn that would later be harvested to make breads and all sorts of delicious treats, according to Rita. A tall, dark-skinned drow with silver-white hair pulled back above her long, pointed ears and gleaming silver eyes, walked around the edge of the pool and continued towards the meadow beyond the buildings with a hungry look on her face and a bow in her hands. Hunting for something to serve the whole village for supper.

In the shallow end of the pool, two human children and their mother splashed and giggled quietly together, and in the deep end, a lanky bald man swam laps. He had performed beautiful violin solos for the village a few nights since Midge had arrived, and it always reminded her of the heavenly choruses Queen Titania hired for her court celebrations.

She loved this place. Everyone had a purpose, and even if they didn't, like Midge, they were still welcome. Emory's little speech had been a poor forecast for the openness and cheer that all the villagers offered since the first day she arrived.

"Oh, it's fading already," Rita said, sounding disappointed as she reached forward to brush her fingers against Midge's arm.

"I thought it might." Midge looked down to see her flesh sinking back a little, diminishing to its usual grey sheen. "Still, so interesting. I wouldn't have had the courage to try without you, Rita."

The little faun had been a beacon of hope and encouragement for Midge in attempting to expand her newfound power. In return, Midge had confessed all; her memory of her life under Queen Titania's rule, and her abrupt departure at the hands of Chevalier. As yet, Rita had not used the knowledge against Midge in any way, or shared with Emory, and the expectancy of sure betrayal lessened with each day. It helped that Emory had been absent for weeks, and Midge was able to put the grumpy Shadar-kel almost completely from her mind.

"I don't think it's me. It's just this island. You're blossoming," Rita said, flinging herself down at the edge of the pool and dabbing her hooves into the turquoise waters.

Midge lowered herself to sit next to the faun and thrust her own bare feet into the water, allowing it to color her skin again slowly, flooding her toes with vibrant health, then beginning to creep up her legs, like a flower's stem absorbing nutrients.

"If you must be nice and kind and beautiful and good and talented, then be all of those things, Rita," Midge said with an exasperated glance. "But for gods' sake, don't be humble, too."

Rita threw back her head in a peal of laughter that brightened her aura momentarily. "You're definitely changing for the better. I'm sort of glad Emory hasn't come around with any great ideas on how to send you home."

"Me too," Midge agreed. She leaned in a bit closer, dropping her voice so that none of the others in the pool could hear. "I sort of hope he just leaves us alone and keeps searching forever."

"Leaves us alone? Oh, no. He really is a nice fellow. Such a great appreciation for the arts. Someone who loves poetry that much can't be all bad, can they?" Rita defended Emory stoutly, as she always did.

"Queen Titania is enormously fond of the arts," Midge said with a scowl. Now that she was free from that environment, and she could feel so much more, she knew what she had been missing, all those years. What her fellow grey folk were still missing. It angered her, but what she could do about it, she did not know.

"She who shall not be named... must have some good qualities too, then," Rita said, then laughed and rolled her eyes. "Like her appreciation for the arts. But otherwise pure trash. I take it all back."

Midge couldn't help but laugh. Rita always did that; injected humor into a situation in which Midge could not possibly have seen a path to laughter before.

She opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, there was a sharp cry of a high-pitched, flute-like voice; Ulviir, the drow huntress, calling for aid.

Exchanging a quick glance, Rita sprang upright and reached for her leather vest, even as Midge snatched up her long, flowing yellow sundress, tossing it over her head. They both began running away from the pool, following the direction of Ulviir's calls, while Midge fastened the buttons of her dress between her breasts.

"Any ideas what it could be?" Midge asked Rita. The faun ran with surprising agility, darting across the sandy street and between a row of small cottages to reach the meadow faster.

"She's never made that sound before," Rita panted back over her shoulder, then charged into the tall grasses.

Midge followed, slowing her pace to wade through the rustling grass, and lifted her eyes to see the tall form of the drow huntress on the other side of the meadow, standing near one of the enormous breadfruit trees that helped feed the village.

It was immediately apparent what the fuss was about. Midge continued to run, watching the wild green flame that crackled in a long oval against the tree trunk began to spread and grow, engulfing the branches and leaves of the tree itself.

Rita gave a squeak of alarm and increased her pace, and Midge lengthened her strides to match, then outpace the short-legged faun, a sense of dread growing in her belly. This wasn't a natural island phenomenon. Something felt strange, foreign, as if it were thrusting an unwelcome finger through the growing crack in the tree trunk.

By the time she arrived at Ulviir's side, the oval had widened to engulf the entire surface of the tree trunk, but there it seemed to stop. She and the huntress waited together for one breathless moment, before something stirred in the heart of the green, flaming portal.

At first it was just a movement in the dark heart of the tree, a bulging against the green flame and then, with a whizzing sound of rapid wings, a tiny humanoid figure darted out of the center of the tree. No more than a foot from head to toe, it was hard to see any details on the rapidly zipping figure until it came to hover just before Midge's face. Its wings still moved in a blur behind its back, but now she could see the creature clearly, and her face dropped into a glum frown.

Frizzy blond waves sticking out in all directions, electric blue eyes that could pierce your soul, lips like the most perfect rose that curled into the most perfect smile one could imagine on a face just the right size for Midge's fist...

It was Peacebloom. The honored ambassador of Queen Titania herself.