Right Mind

Gela woke up with a splitting headache. He felt like he had been asleep for ages. When the assistant went to move his body, he came to the alarming realization that it was tied down.

His eyes widened as he viewed a tan canvas roof overhead. What had happened? How had he gotten here? For that matter, where exactly was he?

Struggling against the ropes, Gela released a low growl. He was pinned to the dirt with large cords tied to tent pegs. He began to contemplate how to escape when a voice interrupted him.

"You already ruined the bed we had you on. I don't want to have to sedate you again." Taran walked into his line of vision. He had changed clothes and held a long knife in his hand for protection.

Gela could sense behind his stern expression, the nobleman was intimidated.

"Where am I?" The assistant asked.

"Hm, interesting." Taran lowered the knife slightly.

"What?" Gela rubbed his itchy ear against his shoulder. He felt his thick coat of white fur and remembered drinking the healing water. "I am a monster!"

"Yes, you are. Though less than you were," the nobleman relaxed even further. "These are the first words you have spoken that were not filled with blind hatred in three days."

"Three....three days?!" Gela's stomach ached in hunger, testifying to the other man's words. "Where am I?"

Again Taran avoided his question. "Your eyes have returned to their normal brown color. The void of darkness that was there is gone. I'm curious how your memory works when you are in such a state. Do you even remember what happened back at the lab?"

As Gela was the one tied down, he saw no choice but to answer the question. "You were going to drink the water, but I volunteered in your stead. I finished the concoction in one gulp. Then I felt a surge of power, then pain, and then I got angry with you for tricking me... oh!"

The assistant gulped as he clamped his eyes closed. He tried to shut out the images flashing across his memory. After getting angry, Gela had lost control. Red blurred his vision, but he could see bits and pieces as he fought to come back from the blind rage.

A table flipped. The fire iron that Taran had brandished was easily cast aside by his gargantuan paw. Gela could clearly see Dania's horrified face. Then everything went red. The next flash he had, the room was in shambles. The lovely scientist was nowhere to be found, and a syringe of something had been stabbed into his arm which made him sleepy.

His only other memories were of waking up briefly in a covered wagon of some sort and the few moments in this tent.

"Dania!" Gela whimpered. "Is she alright?"

"You mean after you completely destroyed her lab and tried to maul her?" Taran looked down on him with disdain. "My love had a ton of cleaning up to do, but she will be fine."

Ignoring the claim the nobleman had made on the scientist, Gela heaved a sigh of relief. The results had been catastrophic, but not deadly. "I remember a wagon. I am not in Valiant anymore, am I?"

The handsome man chuckled darkly. "I would have to be quite a fool to leave a blunder like this in Valiant to be discovered. I initially thought the effects would wear off when the elixir moved out of your system, but the change seems to be permanent. However, since you are now back in your right mind, that changes things."

A greedy glint appeared in Taran's eye. Pulling against the ropes, Gela squirmed. He might have been huge, but he felt quite small under the nobleman's avarice.

"Please, Sir Taran. I want to return to normal. I saved you from this fate. Please save me," he begged.

Taran bit at his nail and spit the shard to the side of the tent. "Of course I will try to change you back...but not before we know exactly what is going on."

He went to the tent flap and allowed a slender young woman, who was as gorgeous as Taran was handsome, to enter the small shelter. She had an apron tied around her waist with pockets containing a book for notes and a few other tools. Behind her, a small man followed along with a large bag and a stool.

"Finally!" The lady said with a wicked smile. "I was beginning to think you were going to shut me out of all the fun."

"I just had to make sure everything was safe. I cannot allow any harm to come to my sister, can I?" Taran gave a slight bow.

"Very chivalrous, but I do think it will take more than a glorified snow bear to defeat me after all I have been through." Taran's sister touched her fingers to her delicate ruby lips. The thought of being mauled by a bear seemed to amuse her greatly.

Taran chuckled. "I am very glad we are on the same side of this little problem, my dear. It is much more fun to work with you than against you."

"Agreed." The woman nodded.

Taran glanced at Gela. "May I present Lady Livie? Just because our father did not want his daughter going into the study of sciences does not mean that my sister listened. And now she has the chance to help us both. Though, I admit, it may not feel like she is helping you at first. My sister can be somewhat abrasive."

"Not everyone can get by solely on their charms," Livie countered. Though her words were more playful than annoyed.

"Yes, well...I shall leave you to it, my lady. Gela, I do hope you enjoy your stay in our humble camp. It isn't much, but it's your home now." Taran bowed. "I shall be back after you get acquainted. I will check on Yumeto and see how his contraption is going."

"Yumeto?" The name rang a bell in Gela's head, but he was so muddled from all the new and confusing information that he could not quite place it. "Don't leave me, Taran! Please!"

Gela could feel the red creeping into his vision once more. Panic and anger were quickening his heart. The person he had trusted was more willing to use him as an expendable experiment rather than fix the catastrophe that had occurred. It was infuriating and horrifying.

When his plea fell on deaf ears, the assistant called for the only person who might be able to save him. "Dania! I want to speak to Dania! You said she is alright. I demand to see her with my own eyes!"

Taran froze at the exit of the tent and turned. His voice became low and cold as steel. "Listen, you abomination, remember your place. You have no right to make demands on me and never will." His serene mask returned. "And anyway, Dania is back in Valiant. Though I hope to remedy that soon enough."

Livie smirked, "You think you can get her to come back with you?"

"A few weeks of her realizing how much she misses me and Dania will jump at my marriage proposal," the nobleman said confidently. "And on the impossible chance that she says no...everyone has a weak point. And Dania has two."

"That is evil!" Gela fought his urge to rage. It was getting impossible to rein in the animalistic instincts.

"You are very wicked," Livie agreed, though she meant it as a compliment. "Now shoo and let me get to work!"

Anxious to get her methods underway, she kicked at the air behind Taran's rear. The nobleman winked and avoided her tender touches.

After her dutiful helper placed the stool on the ground, Livie spread her dress around it and smiled warmly at Gela. Yet her smile did not reach her eyes. "Now, shall we get started. I spent years watching Father get information out of people using...unconventional methods. I am glad to finally get to put that education to use in the name of science."

"What kind of unconventional methods?" Gela gulped. Any hope he had of Livie being on his side quickly vanished by her next words.

"Painful methods." Livie waved her hands casually in the air. "Hopefully you won't remember most of it. Either way, you are doing humanity a great service. We all appreciate your sacrifice."

As Taran walked away outside the tent, he heard roar after ear piercing roar. Looking around at his camp of faithful followers, some seemed unsettled by the painful sounds emanating from the largest tent.

"Sir Taran, what is happening in there?" a woman asked him.

A smile came to the man's face. "We are getting one step closer to power," he answered. His voice became louder. "A power not even the Fates will be able to overcome. Soon, we will be invincible!"

A new cry enveloped the camp. A cry of victory.