Day 15 - Gender Swap

Carver sagged with relief as the front gate closed behind them. It was nearing midnight, and he was glad to be back from their patrol. They'd been gone a full three days longer than planned and he longed for a hot bath and a proper bed. Velanna disappeared in the direction of her room without a word, giving him the briefest of nods. She was obviously feeling much the same, and he couldn't blame her.

It still made him cringe with embarrassment that they had lost their way down in the Deep Roads. They'd pursued a horde of darkspawn down an unfamiliar set of tunnels, too caught up in the heat of the chase to get their bearings. Liam and Karen, the other two members of their party, were still far too new to the Wardens to be of much help and, without any dwarves around, it had been a challenge to find a way out.

Fortunately, they had finally stumbled upon a familiar tunnel, and now they were safely back. Such a pity that they were too late for the start of the Satinalia celebrations though! It had always been Carver's favourite festival, ever since he was a little kid. He loved the pranks and the spirit of irreverence during those few days. Back in Lothering, it had been one of the few diversions for the simple peasants. He remembered it so well: fun and laughter and masks; the village fool being crowned king for the day; the mayor forced to smile through ribald jokes at his expense; pretty young girls dancing in the streets.

With a yawn, he emerged from the baths and headed for their chambers, drying his back perfunctorily with a rough towel. The bedroom was nearly dark, lit only by the dying embers of the fire. He walked on tip toes over to the big four-poster where Megan and Nathaniel were already curled up together.

As he crept under the covers, Nathaniel didn't budge, but Megan blinked and smiled sleepily at him. "Carver. Welcome back. I was a little worried."

"No need." He kissed her. "We're all safe and sound. Sleep now."

She yawned heartily and closed her eyes, snuggling up in the nook of his arm. "You missed quite the party tonight. Anders' cookies were divine."

"Anders made cookies?" Even through the sleepy haze settling on him, Carver felt a tinge of unease, but Megan seemed unperturbed.

"Mmmhmmm. Old Tower recipe, he said." Her voice was getting drowsy. "Special Satinalia spices and all that. Delicious."

He smiled when she dozed off and held her more tightly. It was good to be home.

He woke when the first ray of sun tickled his nose, feeling wonderfully relaxed and cosy. He was sandwiched between two warm bodies, one hard and sinewy, the other one curvy and soft. Smiling to himself without opening his eyes, he turned on his side to spoon the latter, cupping a firm breast in his hand, grunting contentedly when he felt the nipple harden under his touch. He shuffled closer, wrinkling his nose when her long hair tickled him. Reaching up to brush it aside, he squinted a little to see what he was doing – and froze in mid-motion.

The mane of hair tumbling down her back was black, silky, and shining like a raven's wing. The woman next to him was definitely not Megan. But, who-

She turned in his arms to face him, her face still scrunched up from sleep and he recoiled, muffling his scream with the back of his hand — because the woman in his bed, dark and beautiful and long-legged, was quite unmistakably… Nathaniel! Even as his mind screamed at him that this didn't make sense, he knew with absolute certainty that this was the man he loved, the man who'd shared his bed – and Megan's – for months now, who had made love to him more often than he could count.

True, his face looked… different: softer; the characteristic nose a little less hawk-like and more delicate; the cheeks soft and free of stubble. But, everything else… the shape of the eyes, the line of the cheekbones, the expression on the sleeping face – all that was unmistakably Nathaniel.

Carver held his breath but, before he had quite worked out what to do, someone stirred behind him and he had to stifle another scream as he turned around. Megan!

She looked good as a guy, there was no denying it. Rather small and wiry, but well-proportioned, with a flat, hard chest and slim hips and… His eyes wandered deeper and he swallowed hard. She was staring at him, wide-eyed, then followed his gaze down to her crotch and gave a small squeak.

"Andraste's hairy-" She ran her hands down her body, along the unfamiliar lines of her ribs and belly, down between her legs, her face pale under the freckles. "What in the Maker's name is this?"

Despite his own concern, he couldn't help but laugh. "I should think you'd be quite familiar with what it is."

Megan threw him a dark look. "I know what it is, thank you. I just don't see how-" Her eyes fell on Nathaniel. "Sweet Maker, not him, too."

"I'm afraid so." Carver bit back a hysterical laugh.

Just then, Nathaniel yawned and stretched, and he couldn't keep his eyes off those perfect, round breasts as they moved upward. Shit! He couldn't possibly be aroused by this, could he?

Megan jumped from the bed, reaching for a shirt and pants, surreptitiously glancing the same way. "We need to figure out what's going on here."

Nathaniel opened his eyes, then stilled, going through much the same motions as Megan had earlier; his expression vacillating between horror and wonder. It was almost funny, yet Carver sent a silent prayer of thanks to the skies that he himself wasn't afflicted by the same mysterious condition.

And why was that? His eyes narrowed. Whatever the reason for their change, it had to have happened while he was away. Probably not so mysterious after all.

Ignoring Nathaniel's almost hysterical questions, he turned to face Megan. "I think you should find Anders."

"Why?" She shot him a puzzled look, rubbing the downy fluff on her cheek with a moue of distaste. "What does he-"

"The cookies." Nathaniel was quicker on the uptake.

Carver nodded, trying to ignore the way Nathaniel's voice had changed, still hoarse and smoky, but nowhere near as deep as it had been. "I think you should have a word with him."

"I certainly will." Megan's boyish face was grimly determined. "He owes us an explanation. Are you coming with me?"

"I'm not leaving the room." Nathaniel was blushing to the roots of his hair as he indicated his body. "The fewer people who see me like this, the better."

Megan shrugged. "All right. Carver?"

They didn't have to look far. Down in the Great Hall, a tall, beautiful woman was daintily eating her breakfast from a tray. The dress suited Anders well, hugging his newly-acquainted curves in a rather enticing way, Carver thought guiltily. His red-golden hair framed a sweet face with a smiling mouth and large, amber-brown eyes with silky, golden lashes.

He seemed wholly unconcerned by the whole thing, beaming at Megan as she walked in. "Commander! I always thought you'd make a very pretty boy, and it seems I was not mistaken."

Megan obviously had a hard time restraining herself. "It was you, wasn't it? The cookies."

Anders grinned and stretched voluptuously, displaying full, heavy breasts. "Sure. One of the most popular pranks in the Tower, you know. Makes for quite a lot of… special fun during the holiday."

It took a moment for Megan to recover sufficiently from this to answer and, when she did open her mouth to speak, she immediately fell silent again, struck dumb by the arrival of a stunningly lovely elven girl with long golden hair and an all-too familiar facial tattoo.

"Zevran." Megan swallowed hard, and Carver couldn't blame her.

The assassin was wearing nothing but an oversized white shirt, belted tightly at the waist with a leather strap, and he looked… positively edible. Long, graceful legs, perfect shapely curves, smooth caramel skin, and, Maker, those full, kissable lips! Carver had to close his eyes to contain the feelings that suddenly assailed him, and he could tell from Megan's tense posture that she wasn't unaffected either.

Zevran smiled broadly, fully conscious of the effect he was having on them. "Ah, cara. You look very tempting, I have to say." He flashed a hot gaze at them from under his long lashes. "This… prank is really most intriguing. I can't wait to try out my new equipment."

Megan stared at him for a long minute, then she threw back her head and laughed out loud. "Oh Maker, yes. That would be the first thing on your mind."

Anders grinned. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it, Commander." His voice dropped, taking on a decidedly seductive purr. "I'd volunteer for any experiments you might consider, and I'm sure so would Zev."

"Without a doubt." Megan's tone was dry. "I do appreciate your offer, but I think I'll have to decline. How can this be reversed, Anders?"

Her voice had hardened on her last words, and Carver smiled to himself. Just like Megan. She might play along for a laugh, but she would make sure they knew who was in charge.

Anders cleared his throat. "There's no way to reverse it, Commander." He raised a hand to pre-empt Megan's angry outburst. "It's a timed spell. It will wear off after a full day has passed."

"When exactly?" Megan's eyes were narrowed and her voice was pure steel now.

"At midnight." Fine pearls of sweat were appearing on Anders' forehead.

Megan didn't answer straight away, then she nodded slowly. "At midnight." Her face was inscrutable as she faced Anders. "Let all my Wardens know that they are free to stay in their rooms today. The servants can bring them trays of food." Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "You didn't give any to the servants, did you?"

Anders shook his head, and she exhaled sharply. "Good. Anyway, I don't want anyone to feel they have to-"

"Commander?" Velanna's incredulous tone made Megan flinch. "Is that you? And… Anders?"

"You explain." Megan's lips were twitching slightly as she spun on her heel to go, motioning for Carver to follow him. "We shall be upstairs for the remainder of the day."

Nathaniel was pacing the length of the room when they came back. He had thrown on a shirt too, but it left his long legs bare and kept sliding down over one shoulder. If anything, it makes him look even more attractive. Carver was struggling to hide his confusion.

"Meg. Please tell me there's a way to turn us back." The look Nathaniel gave them was almost pleading. "This is driving me crazy."

"Calm down." Megan stopped him in his tracks with a hand on his arm. "It will wear off at midnight. And in the meantime, it's kind of… interesting."

"Interesting!" Nathaniel shook himself. "It's easy for you to say. You look good."

"You think?" Megan struck a pose, smiling naughtily. "Yeah, I do think I'm rather dashing. Though I really don't know how you cope with this… thing." She glanced down at her crotch with a grimace. "It keeps getting in the way when I walk."

Carver bit back a grin. "I guess you get used to it." His gaze fell on Nathaniel's unhappy face and he grew serious. Walking over to him, he put an arm around his shoulder, brushing a kiss against Nathaniel's smooth cheek. "I think you're lovely."

"You do?" Large grey eyes looked at him searchingly. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Carver met Nathaniel's gaze and traced his lips with his thumb. "Lovely and striking and sort of exciting. It's a bit unsettling, to be frank."

"Unsettling, eh?" A slow smile spread across Nathaniel's face, and he caught Carver's thumb between his teeth.

"The two of you are overthinking things." Megan walked over to the bed, glancing back at them over her shoulder. "Zevran is right. We should experiment a bit. It might be really educational."

Carver swallowed as he let Nathaniel drag him over to the bed. "You think?"