Maid of the Mansion - Part 1
"Augie, time to go!" Amy thumped hard on her brother's door.
"Yeah, just a minute."
Amy sighed. No doubt that her fourteen year old brother was clicking away at the net, probably some bizarre furry website. She never saw the appeal, really, but on the other hand - what harm could it do?
Still, she and her mom didn't want to miss their older sister Megan at the airport. She was an anthropology Masters student at the local University of Central Florida, and she was coming home for Christmas break after a semester in Egypt working with archeologists and anthropologists. Amy wouldn't be off for another week...but then again classes would start a week later at Valencia CC anyway.
After what seemed like minutes, Augie finally appeared, and the three set off for Orlando International. After hearing the announcement that her flight had landed, they made their way to Terminal B. Augie spied his sister first - staggering slightly and surrounded by a few weary fellow passengers. Hugs and kisses all around and the family headed back to the car.
"So Meg," asked Amy. "Any huge discoveries we should know about?"
"Nah, nothing huge...but I did bring back some things you might like." Meg stretched lazily in the front street. "How's the Mousie treating you?"
"Not a mouse, it's a seven foot rat. But I manage. Wish they'd move me out of food service."
"Are you still on Crystal Palace?" Amy nodded at this. An upscale restaurant set in the Magic Kingdom that served American food in an aptly-named mansion. She made pretty decent money for 25 hours a week, serving kids and making the characters shine...while taking 9 credits per semester at Valencia. She longed to get out of the restaurant business and operate one of the rides. Problem is...that's what everyone wanted, that, or running the monorail.
Amy had only twenty minutes to get ready for work when they got home. She was thankful that she had her curly strawberry-blonde hair cut fairly short, so she could just wash and run. Amy would wear casual clothes to work and put her "costume" - a pale yellow dress with white trim.
"Hey kiddo!" Megan's voice was accompanied by a knock on the door.
"Come in, come in!" Meg did so and gave he sister another hug. "I missed you! Hey, before you go, let me give you something I brought back with me." Megan brought out a small bag made of a leathery fabric, holding it gingerly.
"We haven't dated any of this, but we found it at the foot of a statue...might be Bast, might be Sekhmet - some Egyptian cat deity anyway. We're leaning towards Bast because it was found around az-Zaq?z?q, but that's just conjecture."
Amy bit her lip, her eyes flicked to her watch.
"ANYWAY," continued Meg, "there were a few of these pouches, and I figured they wouldn't miss one, since they already had for the past three millennia..."
"Oh you naughty girl!"
"Lucky for you, babe," retorted Meg, unwrapping the moldered cloth, "since you are now the proud owner of this authentic twentieth century (Bee Cee) Egyptian pendant."
Amy squealed upon the sight. What's a little artifact looting and smuggling between sisters, she thought? She took the pendant, a trapezoid of bronze or copper encircling a reddish stone, and placed it on silver necklace she'd never used. Amy was running late and the traffic on I-4 would soon be going from awful to utterly atrocious.
"You're late."
She wasn't, but the glint in Chet's eyes assured her she wasn't being serious.
"Am not! Besides you'd know I'd never leave you hanging."
"No? You're sure?" Chet's eyes sparkled and picked an envelope off the antique roll top he kept in his office. Waving it tantalizingly between his thumb and forefinger, he said to his former employee in a quite respectable imitation of Paul Frees; "Welcome, foolish mortal...to the Haunted Mansion!" He gave her a friendly fraternal hug. "Way to go Amy, we all knew you wanted this, and you've been a great CM for the past year and a half. Don't be a stranger, hear?"
So with that bit of encouraging news to lift her heart, Amy descended Stairway 17, went to the Main Wardrobe, and was issued the standard Haunted Mansion Hostess Costume, a lovely forest green 18th century dress, with a white apron and white maid's headdress.
"And you must be Amy, I presume?" Amy curtseyed sarcastically, a wry grin on her face. Harold was the foreman, a handsome, bespectacled lad in his late twenties. He checked the schedule. "It would be great if you could close, the pay's a little higher, the hours somewhat longer, the house," Amy noticed a bit of Canada in the pronunciation as he leaned forward menacingly, "quite a bit creepier.
"I'm fine with that."
"Good!" He regarded her with an air of appraisal. "Little over five feet, short curls...you might want to let your hair grow just a bit...it would fit the Colonial era. I like the glasses, the newer frames are great, but your wire-framed glasses are perfect. The thing to remember, Amy is that you can be a bit more somber and serious. Develop the aura of foreboding. So if you have a tough day in class or are a bit down about one thing or another - use that. So long as you aren't rude or abusive, you can relax your smile muscles. You will want to smile when you are dealing with scared kids...I'm sure you know that the attraction isn't scary - but it can be unsettling to younger ones."
Amy nodded. "Where do you want to start me?"
Harold closed his eyes, resting his head on his thumb, thinking. "Let me put you on unloading with Michelle for now. It's a one person job, but she'll be able to show you the ropes and everything...and I'm sure you'll be able to keep each other entertained. Then I'll show you how to close."
Amy studied the procedure manuals for two hours before joining Michelle in unloading. A simple task, just somberly greeting the surviving guests and making sure they behaved themselves, assisting those that needed help.
After ten that evening, the park closed down, and Harold, along with Amy, commenced the attraction shutdown procedure and walkthrough.
"I suppose you've never seen the ride lit up before," asked Harold
"Just a couple of times for those 'restless spooks' as we call them. I'm assuming it's a pretty simple operation?"
"Yep, pretty straightforward. No elevators here like they have in Anaheim. I'll give you the tour as we CMs see it." Amy was game and they continued, starting in the foyer.
"What makes this role a bit challenging is keeping the place dirty on stage - but spotless in places the guests can't see, especially the electronics." He noted her apprehensive expression. Don't worry; the maintenance team will take care of that. They walked through the stretch rooms, then into the loading area where guests were seated in their "doom buggies," the famous Omnimovers. Past the loading area, they continued into the portrait hall.
The portrait hall featured a number of pictures that changed with the flashes of lightning: A lovely red-haired woman was transformed into a hideous Gorgon - obviously a before and after morph of Medusa. A tall sailing ship under full sail in fast winds became a ghost ship with tattered sails at night. A shapely dark woman reclining on a sofa became a snarling white tiger, and a knight on horseback flashed into a skeletal image of horse and rider.
"Nice pictures," noted Amy.
"Aren't they though? You'll recognize Medusa, I'm sure, and probably the Flying Dutchman. I don't know the story of the horseman or the tiger woman. The horseman might be a reference to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
"And Miss Kitty?"
Harold shrugged, a wry grin on his face. "Nastassja Kinski?" Amy giggled as the lightning flashed, but what unnerved her was the pendant the woman wore. Except for the necklace, it looked an awful lot like the pendant Megan had given her, the one she was wearing at the moment. Amy was savvy enough with Disney rules not to take it out for a look.
Harold paused a minute; "Now that's interesting," he said as he regarded the reclining woman.
"Oh?"
"This picture was originally designed to morph into a black leopard. With the update, she was made to become a tiger as the lightning flashed."
Lightning flashed. A snarling lioness appeared.
"Whoa!"
Another flash. This time she was replaced by an ocelot...then a large Persian cat. Then the tigress reemerged.
"Right. OK, Amy that is odd. I'm gonna have to ask Dave about that, they must have replaced it with another design, some multiple matte or something."
Amy nodded at that. Seriously weird, she thought to herself.
Neither she nor Harold noticed the pendant in the portrait glowing a dull red.
They continued through the portrait hall into the library that was loaded with priceless first editions only ghost stories of course. Amy knew how the illusion of the marble heads was done, but Harold was happy to let her take a closer look.
Through the library past the piano, into an otherworldly realm of stairs and footsteps based on several old perspective drawings, then back into the merely spooky. They passed a hall that seemingly led into infinity, then by a conservatory featuring a coffin with a not-so-dead occupant...then into a hallway of locked doors with VERY not-so-dead occupants behind them.
"You'll want to be careful if you go into this room to...er...retrieve a guest. I've heard that more than one misbehaving guest has done a face plant trying to get to Madame Leota."
That was understandable. Between the scaffolding supporting the Omnimovers and Leota's table, there was nothing but empty space and storage for spare parts. Amy chuckled at what a painful surprise that must have been.
"Lawsuit?"
"Yep," answered Harold. "Laughed out of court, needless to say. And through this hallway we have our little party going on." They proceeded across the balcony where the penultimate celebration occurred; a ghostly birthday party and one of the greatest exhibits of "Pepper's Ghost" in existence.
"The music tends to stick in your head, doesn't it?"
"Not as much as you think. You might hear the words 'hurry back' more than you'd consider healthy, but nobody has died from it." He considered his words. "On the other hand, there might be a research project in that. Call it: 'A Study Into Post-Mansion Stress Disorder - What Walt Didn't Know.'"
Amy laughed. "Yeah, and then check out all the mental hospitals for people singing about a world of laughter, a world of tears."
"Careful Comrade," he warned with a grin as they continued towards the attic. "Secret police are listening."
Originally, the attic was perhaps the most frightening part of the Mansion. The ballroom waltz segued into a thumping heartbeat. Ghosts would pop out from beneath boxes, unused furniture, and the like with a piercing double hiss. In the far corner the attic bride would stand motionless, silent save for the eerie lub-dup of her heart. As one drew nearer it became evident that the bride was nearly skeletal, her face pinched and twisted.
It had been toned down since then. The bride was more evidently evil, yes. But she wasn't quite as horrifying...which is curious since in part of her spiel a rather nasty-looking hatchet appears in her hand.
"In sickness and in...wealth..."
"Do we have the background story on her?" They stepped carefully around the Omnimovers, being sure to avoid the pressure pads.
"Nothing official yet, Amy. I don't know if were going to get the official story, or leave it up to the guests to figure out. There's been some clever tales told out there."
They followed the Omnimovers out of the "window" and Amy was impressed by the size of the warehouse that stored the whole attraction. The graveyard naturally covered a sizable portion, and Amy could make out two glass or Plexiglas screens that doubled both as security and as a projection screen for the Pepper's ghost effect.
A scared caretaker and his emaciated hound kept watch over the scene. Tombstones rocked, displaced by emerging spirits. Four busts sang silently, Harold had muted the sound system, a beheaded knight joined in the singing, along with a comical looking mummy. Towards the end, they spied a spectral apparition arising from darkness.
"And that is the graveyard." They passed the final scene, where three unsavory looking ghosts would pick up rides, then out to the unloading area. Harold secured the door, and hit the auxiliary power switch. "And that's that. Will you be able to handle it yourself tomorrow night?"
Mock terror appeared in her eyes as they headed downstairs to the dressing room "What, just me?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine. If there are any problems, there is a cast member helpline that can answer any questions you might have." Harold pulled out the schedule. "So tomorrow, you'll be on from six to midnight, park closes at ten...and you're off on Sunday."
"Sounds fine, Harold. See you tomorrow?"
"Just for a couple of hours, I'll need to leave early for some stuff. Nice work today."
Amy Bradshaw lived in a fairly upscale community in Orlando that was built on the site of the old Navy base. It was a good twenty miles home from Disney, but the traffic on I-4 had lightened considerably. Even so, it was forty minutes and nearly midnight when she pulled into the driveway. Megan was up to greet her.
"Wow! Good day at work? You're beaming."
Amy eagerly regaled her older sister with the tale of her lateral promotion, and some of the things she'd seen since taking the position. The siblings stayed up till two, watching television, then Amy turned in to sleep until noon.
After eating a late lunch underground in the cast member dining room, Amy met with Harold, who quizzed her on the things she remembered, then put her to work in unloading. There weren't a lot of opportunities for her to exercise her acting ability; it was simply a matter of being somberly pleasant. The ride would have to be stopped to allow guests needing assistance to embark and get off.
The hours slipped by, and the sun sank over Splash Mountain. Eventually, it was closing time at the park. Amy bid farewell to everyone, grabbed the checklist and began the shutdown process.
She came to the corridor of portraits. Lightning still flashed. All seemed to be in order. Amy looked closely at the portrait of the reclining woman. Indeed, the pendant did look familiar. She reached down into her blouse to pull out the necklace Megan had given her. She gasped in astonishment as she realized that it was glowing red and warm.
Lightning flashed. A black leopard was revealed. The light faded revealing the young Egyptian princess wearing the same pendant. Amy's mouth hung wide open as the princess lifted the glowing pendant from her breast, and regarded it cautiously. She looked up to see Amy staring at her.
What seemed like an electric jolt rippled through the room. Amy shook her head, stunned, wondering what had just happened. Then she realized that the Omnimovers were gone. She swallowed hard, racing back to the loading area.
A surreal landscape met her eyes as she turned the corner. Dense white mist hugged the "ground" and a moaning wind blew. She dared not move from this spot, the barren land reminded her of pictures she had seen of Mars...and the Scottish moor.
"Welcome Amy."
Amy whirled in terror.
It was the woman in the picture. Black silken dress, wide orange eyes, the same serious expression.
"Who are...where am..."
She smiled gently. "I am Leila Panshj, from what is called the fourth century before the Christ. You have entered the Vestibule." Her voice was accented and soft.
"Why..."
"What do you remember doing before you came here?"
"I was looking at your picture," she said.
"You were looking at my picture, my resting place, and my stone. And you have brought one of its brothers, I see. Why did you bring it back?"
"I...I never thought not to."
"No? I ask this because that answers your question as to why you are here, it is a dark magic in these stones. They were created by priests of the goddess Bastet to ward off thieves. Come with me, we must go."
Amy, with some trepidation, allowed Leila to take her by the hand out of the vestibule and back into the portrait hall.
"By themselves, they are quite dangerous enough. Put them together just once, as you have, and the result is this..."
Amy gasped as she heard the howling wind and saw rain mixed with snow pounding on the windows. Leila's portrait stood empty.
"H-h-help m-m-ee!" The knight stared at his hands as they withered and became skeletal, his voice a deathly rasp.
A red-haired woman hid her face and sobbed as her hands became taloned claws, her hair a nest of vipers. "Don't...look at me," she pleaded.
"Mind her advice, you remain mortal, Amy. Into the library!"
Amy's heart pounded as she followed the woman.
"Are we safe?"
Leila nodded in affirmation. "For the moment though, I fear that is neither the last nor worst of it by far. How did you acquire the stone?"
"It was a gift from my sister; she brought it over from Egypt."
Leila's hand went to her mouth. "Was it blessed by a priest of Bastet?"
Amy's eyes grew wide and she shrugged. "I doubt it; Megan said that she scooped it up, figuring that nobody would miss it. There were a few of them, she said."
"You knew this and accepted it still?" Leila stared at her hands. "What time is it?"
"It's...ten till midnight."
"Very well. Then you must hear my story."
"I was seventeen years old when I found the temple. I had finished my household duties and went for a walk that evening. We'd all heard about the ancient temple, but had been warned about entering it...being unstable and decrepit. But I was curious, and disregarded the warning."
"I entered the chamber, enjoying the peace and serenity it seemingly offered. There was a large statue of the goddess Bast. Beside the statue was a decaying chest of acacia wood. Inside were some scrolls, and a smaller box containing this stone and several others. I had no eye for jewelry, no idea whether the stone was worth something only as a curiosity, or whether it was priceless. I decided to take one and have it appraised."
"I never found out what it might have been worth. I foolishly decided to wear it...and by doing so I invoked a curse that was placed on these stones. I found out later that it was written on one of the scrolls: 'Whosoever shall bear the stone shall evermore take the feline form till the day has dawned, the form everlasting if the stone is unborne.' I took the form of a panther at midnight, and have done so ever since."
Amy shook her head in disbelief. "Why did I see the other cat forms?"
Leila smiled sadly, "My feline form was the panther. Others came before me, and one has followed." She gently squeezed Amy's forearm. Amy...I fear the curse now passes on to you."
Amy felt her stomach lurch. "Wait, no...I can't!" She reached into her blouse to remove the fell object. Leila gasped and pulled her hands away.
"You must not remove it. You must never remove it! Otherwise this will be your last night as a human being...if the stone is unborne."
Amy's mind raced. This couldn't be real could it? "Why haven't I changed yet? I've had it one night already?
"Yes, that may mean that the curse has been lifted on this particular stone - or perhaps it was delayed for someone to give you fair warning. In any case, we are at risk here."
"Where IS here? I know you said it was 'the Vestibule' but what and where is it?"
"It is an intermediate realm of supernatural darkness. You entered it by invoking the stone, and it can only be departed in your case by contacting the one the stone honors. Speaking plainly about what this realm is - it is an antechamber of Hell."
Again, the world seemed to fall apart around Amy. "Hell? This is Hell!"
Leila considered her response; "Not quite. This is the edge, the world of shadow, where light and darkness merge and separate. The 'Haunted Mansions,' the 'Phantom Manors,' what used to be 112 Ocean Avenue, whether real or imaginary - for 'entertainment' - all are portals to this place and others like it. You merely found the door and walked through. The fearful thing is that these doors allow only one way passage."
Leila took Amy by the hand, bidding her to follow. "The antechamber, if we follow it all the way to the end, leads directly into Hell. Many, if not most of the spirits you will see are the spirits of the damned, their souls are in torment further down. Once you are in this realm - the only way out is through the very bottom - as Dante Alighieri describes in detail. I fear your would not survive the journey in your present state."
Amy felt sickly enough as it was. "How do I get out of here then?"
"A Stone of Bastet brought you here, it is she who may be willing to allow you access to the light. In the graveyard, there is an Egyptian section we must find."
Leila trembled as if feeling a chill. "Midnight approaches, we must find a safer place."
Amy didn't think the layout of this quasi-infernal Haunted Mansion would be similar to the one she knew, and was not surprised. The inspiration was obvious though. As they left the library, Amy noticed that stacks of books seemed to stretch boundlessly beyond.
Rather than the small music room, with its pianist nothing but a shadow, a three-dimensional spirit sat, bound and chained, playing not an odd version of "Grim-Grinning ghosts, but Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 by Chopin. He said nothing, but looked at Amy with anguish in his eyes.
"Devoted his life to music, Amy. He neglected everything else. He was otherwise a good man, but..."
Through another misty curtain they traveled.
"The Mansion is and was right and wrong in the portrayal of this realm. Stairs and spiders."
Oddly colored spiders dangled from stairs, some dangling down...some up, if "dangling" could be the correct word from it. Rather than a room several yards deep and wide, it seemed to go on for miles.
"Do NOT leave the path, the spiders will attack. The bite is death, and death here means a one way journey into an ever darkening infinity."
"But...Leila, what is the point of the place?"
"It's a prison or jail. The doors you see open out from rooms all over Hades. It's from this realm that one learns that even Hell is a better fate than what COULD befall them. The doors are locked - from the inside. They know what awaits their escape."
Amy looked at her watch. Four minutes to midnight. Was time slowing down?
"Yes, we must get to a safe place before midnight. And time does seem slower - there must be some grace about you still...but even grace may wear through. We must not delay."
They seemed no closer to the exit than they were at the beginning.
"Courage, Amy. You must be brave."
Amy bit her lip and wondered how they would make it...and why was it so important to be "safe" at midnight. When they got to the end, a time that seemed interminable, her watch revealed less than a minute to midnight.
"Less than a minute, Leila!"
"This way, quickly! Don't touch the wallpaper!"
No way would she do that, demonic shapes moved underneath, peeping out in places. Leila tightened her grip on Amy's hand, taking her up the three stairs into the long hallway.
"Amy...the rooms in the hallway change their doors every so often. Most are simply rooms, some inhabited, some empty. Some will move us forward, some back. One or two will trap the soul forever - and another will do much worse." She grabbed the handle of the first door on the left. "I am no longer mortal, the choice must be yours." Leila groaned. "Choose!"
They entered.
They were safe. Leila moaned, tumbling on the floor. Amy looked at her watch.
11:59:42...11:59:43
"My curse...forever cursed..."
Amy bit her lip, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.
11:59:44...11:59:45...
"Three thousand years, every night. Never gets any easier Amy, always the same horror of seeing and feeling your body change..."
11:59:58...11:59:59
12:00:00
Amy watched horrified as her friend's body began to change. Claws emerged from her fingertips. Black fur sprouted. Leila moaned as her face pushed out into a leopard's muzzle. Amy looked again at her watch.
11:59:56...11:59:57
"Your time...approaches, Amy." Leila's voice was distinctly feline
11:59:58...11:59:59
Fire blazed through Amy's body. She suddenly felt as though she were on the verge of orgasm.
"What? NO! NO!!!"
"Yes."
12:00:00
Amy moaned as every cell seemingly came alive. Fingernails shattered as claws pushed out. Her skin burned as thick orange fur began to grow all over her body, fire and the sensation of silk sliding all over her.
"Oh God, no! Leila...please!"
"Courage Amy."
Amy whimpered as she felt her feet stretch and saw her hands become paws, suitable for killing, but not grasping. She attempted to stand...she stumbled over to an eighteenth century dresser and mirror.
Whiskers had begun to sprout from her cheeks, and her ears popped as they grew long and pointed. Pressure began to build on her bottom and she moaned as her spine grew into a long tail. Her teeth lengthened into fangs and her mouth felt dry. Her face ticked and tufts of fur sprouted on her cheeks with a light rustling sound. She felt her nose go moist and pink. The fur spread all over her face and Amy was no longer recognizable.
"Nrrrooooww!" Amy's face pushed out as her jaw pushed up towards her nose. Her fur got longer and thicker and her costume bulged with it. She whimpered as she realized that she was now, except for being able to stand on two legs, an orange Persian cat.
Amy had no idea that a person could feel as much fear as was surging through her as she stared at herself in the mirror, whimpering, trembling as she stroked the thick fur all over her face. Her soft elfin features were gone; all she saw were the face and features of a doll-faced Persian cat.
Not only had she changed into a monster, for all intents and purposes she no longer had fingers. Unlike Leila, Amy's hands had been completely reduced to paws.
Amy jumped as Leila squeezed her shoulder, which now had long orange hairs bursting through the seams of her costume. "Are you all right, child?" Leila's voice was a comforting purr.
"Nrr-ooo-," Amy stopped herself. She could still speak, but her voice was definitely feline. "I want my body back!"
"....And why the hell do I have a British accent!"
"You will be restored to your original form as the sun rises - of course, in this realm there is no sun, but you will change again tomorrow night, that's the curse." She took Amy's paw. "You know," she said with a chuckle, "you really look quite adorable."
Amy was feeling a lot of things at that moment, "adorable" wasn't one of them. "Frightened" and "humiliated" were at the top of the list though. She allowed Leila to take her, following her back out into the hallway. A sobbing skeletal figure carried a candelabrum down the hall away from them. The two felines walked back the way they came.
As they continued through the hall, passed the demonic-looking wallpaper, Amy began to hear whispers...
"She'll be a kitty for life, won't she?"
"Not for life...just for the night." "Yes...change back she will."
"And on the morrow? A cat, again she'll be."
"Ah...yes. And the night after that."
"And after that." "But she will be completely human in the morning."
"Nearly completely human - as long as she wears the stone."
"Oh yes, she must always, always wear the stone. Or a cat she will be forever..."
"Should not be too inconvenient, should it?"
"Inconvenient? Yes. And treacherous. So much can happen to a thin necklace, easily broken."
"We wonder how long it will be before the necklace decays. And impossible to reinforce without removing it."
"Yes, indeed. Treacherous as you say. But she will still be completely human in the daytime until the stone is removed"
"Indeed...no...no not indeed. A girl, young as she is, the curse will soon take its full measure..."
Amy's fur stood on end as the words had their intended effect. Demonic laughter followed her.
"Don't listen to the spirits of darkness, Amy; they lie as a matter of principle...though they speak the truth about removing the stone."
"What did they mean about the curse taking the full measure?"
Leila hesitated. "I'm sure...I don't know, but it is likely a lie."
Following that less than assuring reassurance and fighting back tears, Amy followed Leila into the séance room. Madame Leota continued to speak, though in a painfully strained voice in a language Amy could not recognize.
"You recognize her, don't you Amy?"
"Of course."
"For the most part she was a false prophet. We still see her, from this realm, but she suffers the full measure of torment many leagues further down. The false prophets are slain in this world, and severely punished in the next, as they not only doom themselves, but those who heed them."
Amy considered asking Leila about these torments, but thought better of it. Not that she wasn't compassionate; it was just that her mind was occupied with some other concerns. She also didn't want to bring up issues that might offend Leila. How had she died, why was she still trapped in the painting, what was Leila's eternity?
"Come dear. We must find Bastet." Amy allowed Leila to take her gently by the waist.
The party in the ballroom was almost exactly as it was portrayed in the theme park. Leila and Amy crossed the balcony, and then descended to the ballroom floor.
Amy blushed as the spirits laughed at seeing two cat women arrive at the party.
"I wasn't aware that this was a costume ball!"
"Look what the cats came in!"
"Look at the fluffy one, isn't it adorable? Looks just like Hetelia in a dress."
Oh goodness, get me outta here, pleaded Amy to nobody in particular.
A drunken spirit (how did he manage that?) approached her. "May I have this dance, lil pussy cat girl?"
She wasn't sure if he or she was more shocked when she hissed at him, but she couldn't resist giggling as he stumbled away.
Leila wasn't amused. "Mind your humanity, little one. You may find it all too easy to lose."
That admonition sobered Amy quickly. "Is it really?"
"Good gracious yes, it was how I found myself ensnared in this realm."
Mr. Preston approached. "Leila, dearest. Won't you please tell your story? I'm sure we would all love to hear it again. But first, do introduce us to your Persian friend."
"Amy isn't Persian, she is American as most of you are. I fear the curse has found a new home in her. Of course, we shall try to find Bastet, to return her to her proper home."
"And proper species," chimed in Amy.
"A mortal then? Excellent! We get so few visitors from above. Is it still 1998?"
Confused, Amy answered that it was thirteen years later.
"Two thousand and ELEVEN, ladies and gentlemen. And another decade closer to deliverance! But...Amy, you are English, are you not?"
Amy sighed shakily. "N-no, my voice was changed when...when this happened to me."
"Fascinating, I'd have said that you had lived your whole life in Kent otherwise!"
"In any case, friends," interrupted Leila, "We mustn't waste time. I think it only fair that Amy learn the true nature of her otherworldly escort."
"Hear, Hear," the guests agreed wholeheartedly.
"After my first transformation Amy, I was terrified at the thought of being exposed. As the days and weeks passed by, I started getting used to the routine, but I also found myself becoming more and more wild, and as a leopardess, I had precious little control over what I did, though I was very conscious of doing it...just like we are now. Eventually the night came and a young man fell to my fangs and claws. Then two women, then another man. Night after night, someone would be killed by me.
Eventually, fortunately, I got careless, and was snared. The clerics of the town saw my transformation, tore the stone from me. I was sentenced to death by stoning and I desperately welcomed the release.
Rather than release, and a painless sleep, I found myself in this plane of existence, doomed to remain between worlds, though always closer to the darker one."
Amy sighed. "Is there hope for you then?"
Leila shrugged. "Bastet...adopted me, one might say. She assures me that I will move on, provided I serve as an escort to those who appear before me. As you might have guessed, I have not been very busy."
Leila stood and regarded the ghostly crowd. "And our time draws short, so we must take our leave." Leila and Amy followed Preston across the dance floor to the double door leading outside.
"I dare say, you've had a busy night Miss," the chief of staff said to Amy. "Just follow the path to the graveyard. Be sure to mind your manners when you find Bastet, the alternate route out I'm sure you'll find very stressful. Good luck to you both!"
Amy and Leila left the butler, and followed the path overgrown by weeds.
"They were all so sweet Leila, why are they here?"
"Like myself, they were trapped by a curse on the mansion, this one by Leota through Mr. Gracey. They await deliverance as well, and as you mentioned, they are...at least in the eyes of man, quite innocent.
The overgrown path they followed led to a high stone wall and through an archway to the graveyard. Unearthly, horrid moans filled the air, and as far as Amy could see were tombstones, mausoleums, sarcophagi, and crypt doors.
A frigid ball of fear welled up in her stomach. "Good Lord," she whispered to herself.
"Just barely Amy, just barely," said Leila as she drew her friend in a comforting embrace. "If we continue on this path, through the city of the dead, the gate on the other side is the gate to the infernal realm."
Amy looked behind her. Oily mists hid the way they had come. She felt Leila take her by the paw. "Come, we must go."
They walked several hundred yards along the path, pausing every so often for Leila to get her bearings. They left the path upon passing a tall obelisk and headed what appeared to be northeast. Smooth, pale, pyramidal shapes appeared out of the gloom. Amy, too embarrassed and vulnerable to do anything else, clutched her bushy tail to her side. Leila chucked at this.
"Let your tail be free, Amy, it will help you maintain your balance."
"She is quite right, you know. Welcome back my pet."
From out of the mist, a tall stately figure emerged. Amy felt her knees buckle in the presence of the ancient Egyptian deity.
Leila bowed deeply before the goddess. Amy, though she felt quite uncomfortable in doing so, did the same. Amy wasn't religious or spiritual, but she knew that after all she had seen, a visit to the local church, mosque, temple, and or monastery would be in order.
"It is good to see you again, my lord," said Leila.
"As well it is to see, you my child. And you have brought Miss Bradshaw along, I see... very well done." She looked at Amy appraisingly. "Leila, you have done well in safely escorting this girl to see me. Return to your station for your reward."
"Yes my lord." Amy looked on in amazement as Leila bowed her head, and faded away.
"Young lady," said Bastet, "come with me. We have so much to discuss."
Bastet approached Amy, and Amy saw that she had the face and figure of a tall woman with the eyes of a lioness. She took Amy by the arm and brought her to one of the larger, snow white pyramids. With the wave of her hand, a gleaming gold and white passageway appeared and they descended into what appeared to be a living room featuring a velvet-covered beige sofa in the shape of a U.
"Be seated," she commanded. The goddess got right to the point. "Amy, you wish to be returned to the mortal realm without descending into Hades. Is there anything else?"
"I wish to be returned to my human form...my lord."
"You ask the goddess of the felines to make you a human? You insult me Amy! Besides, child, you are merely getting the punishment you deserve."
"What did I do?"
"What you did was accept stolen property - you know it was stolen, from me, and from Egypt. You didn't have to participate in Megan's crime, but you did...didn't you?
"But she's my sister!"
"She's your sister, and you should have the courage to stand up to her, for her own good as well as yours. "Bastet approached her and stroked her shoulder. "You know, Amy Bradshaw, you make quite a lovely Persian. Perhaps I should make your transformation permanent? I could do that Amy, a flick of a finger and you will be a cat for all eternity.
Cold lead formed in Amy's stomach. "No, please Bastet..."
"No? Well then, let's discuss your punishment. With all seriousness, you will be a cat forever if that stone is removed. You coveted it, you wanted it, and it's yours, so that is that."
"Okay..." Amy was too awed to say more
"Now, you will be human again when the sun rises...but only until the brightest stars appear in the night sky, after that, you will change back into your present form. I will allow you to remain human on nights when the moon is dark...but on the days and nights of the full moon, you will know what it is like to truly be a cat."
"Bastet...m-my Lord, please..." Bastet waved her hand and Amy's costume vanished. For the first time Amy could see the whole of what had happened to her. Orange fur, thick and nearly a foot long, covered everything. Her belly was rounder and her legs were distinctly catlike.
Amy felt pressure growing in her legs and in the base of her spine.
"NROOOOOWWW!" Amy screamed as she was nearly forced to all fours.
"Oh you don't approve Amy? Shall we negotiate your circumstances further? I would love to have another cat in the world, and you would be a fine breeder of a very popular type of feline. But no...I think we'll have to add a bit of a random element...you know, maybe the middle of the afternoon, working on your English literature final... Oh, that would be fun to see.
Amy tried to stifle a trembling sob. Bastet bit her lip at this.
"But...I think I should also give you a chance at breaking the curse."
"Meow?" Amy rolled her eyes at what she had just "said" but Bastet chuckled warmly, and stroked Amy gently on the head.
"Yes, Amy, you are an adorable one. But if you want to get your human form back, I would have you recover some items of mine."
"Um...how many?"
"I want seven artifacts. One for each continent...and seven years in which to find them. I will tell you more in your dreams...if you'll permit me.
"...I will."
"Good. And now it is time for you to go home." Bastet lifted her to her feet.
"You wake up tomorrow, safe in bed. I just hope you don't have any plans for the evening."
It was simple, really. The Egyptian goddess merely waved her hand and Amy felt a grey weariness settle over her, and then the world faded to black.
Amy opened her eyes to see Florida's late autumn sunlight streaming into her window. She bolted straight up in bed, and looked down to see her bare human arms and chest, bare - except for the stone Megan had given her. She closed her eyes and exhaled.
With the day off, Amy didn't feel like doing anything right away. She pulled on some clothes and stretched, then sat down at her computer. She was about to turn it on.
"Amy."
She sat upright, whirling around. That was from inside the room! Nothing there.
"Amy."
She turned to the black computer screen. The face of a female lion stared at her. Bastet.
"You belong to me now, my child. See to it that the stone never leaves you, for if it does..." The face of Bastet faded and Amy saw herself kneeling on her bathroom floor, staring at the broken chain and fallen stone...then writhing in fear and pain as she began a final and permanent change. The image faded and Amy saw her mother with an anguished look on her face holding a frightened-looking orange Persian.
Amy felt a wave of nausea pass over her. So much for pretending this was a dream.
"What do I have to do, Bastet," said Amy urgently.
"Bastet? I am your goddess now, Amy. You will address me as Lord."
Amy sat back in her chair gasping, resistant. That was fine as far as Leila was concerned, but damned if she was going to worship some ancient Egyptian go-
"You dare defy me child? I can always make your curse permanent. Indeed I am ancient, but I am quite more powerful than you can imagine; and I demand worship and obedience of those who are mine. Do you understand me, or need I make my claim over you more evident to all?"
"Yes...my Lord."
"For today, my only instruction is to relax... but of course we will talk later." The image faded.
Amy's breathed deeply to stem the flow of panic she was feeling. She grabbed a quick breakfast and, since Bastet had carelessly left Amy's car in the employee parking lot - and her PURSE in a locker in the Haunted Mansion - she had to take the bus to Disney World and offer an embarrassing explanation.
Fortunately, Amy had gotten enough experience that she was recognized by security and buzzed through the employee entrance. Harold greeted her inside.
"Great work last night, Amy...but I guess the stress of that first night kind of rattled your brains a bit, didn't it?"
"Um, something like that. Ah...look, Harold...I feel terrible asking for this, especially under the circumstances...but ...well...something came up. Is there any way you can move me to a daytime schedule?"
Harold sighed, burying his head in his hands. "Not cool, Amy. Not cool at all, I was kind of depending on you for this. Look, I'll have to double check the schedule...see if someone is willing to switch...and get back to you. Can you tell me what came up?"
Sure she could. Just that it would be extremely awkward to prove. "Harold, I'd like to, I really would. But not right now...I'm...trying to work it out myself."
Harold nodded curtly. It sounded pretty serious, but Harold wasn't going to pry that much, just that...damn, he had just figured out a new schedule that was like Swiss watch-making and this new girl screws it up. "Like I said, I'll call you back. Oh, and I love the British accent, the guests will love it"
Amy apologized again for her inconveniencing Harold like that, but she saw no other way around it. She was even more unsettled about her voice, it might be fine and well to have a "Mansion" accent as they called it, but Mum...Mom...would probably freak.
It took some effort, but by the time she pulled into the driveway, she could pass for American at least until she figured out how to explain things.
When she got home, another crisis presented itself in the form of her mother.
"Amy, we're going out for dinner tonight, I need you to start getting ready."
Amy offered a polite counter to this command, but...
"No, you cannot stay home. Your sister is here and you had the whole day off. Now we are going out and having dinner together."
She looked at her watch. 4:24, maybe an hour before sun set. Her heart pounded.
"Fine Mom, where were we planning on going," she asked, pleading that it would be close.
It was just a few miles away; east on Colonia, then a quick turn up Semoran. It was hardly the fanciest restaurant in the area, the area itself left much to be desired, but the food was good and the service was friendly. Amy kept furtively glancing at her watch. The mahi-mahi was delicious, but she hardly noticed as she ate as quickly as she could. Ten minutes after five, and Amy was ready to go. Come ON guys, she whispered to herself.
She stared out the window as the sun began its final plunge beneath the horizon. He mother paid the bill, and they got into the car.
Amy was thankful that they had finally cleared up the construction on Colonial, it made the drive home that much faster. It was almost twenty past five as they left the restaurant, and it was seriously busy.
She didn't bother checking her watch, but she was the first inside and rushing to her room when they finally got back home.
She locked the door of her bedroom behind her, and she felt her stomach bouncing from the butterflies within. Amy hugged herself tightly. She wasn't sure when or even if anything was going to happen, but with the sun going down, if anything was going to happen, it could happen at any minute. Amy took another deep breath and stretched. She looked out the window at a quickly darkening sky, then turned back, pulled down the shades and removed her clothes.
Nothing seemed to have changed from the previous night, the same light-toned skin, nearly red hair. Her legs could use a shave, but nothing too serious. Amy began to feel warm.
She gasped. The warmth began to increase and her skin began tingling, starting below her belly button and in her armpits, but radiating outward.
"Oh god, it's real, it's real," she moaned. She struggled not to cry out as she saw and felt her bones and muscles shift. With an eerie crackling noise, hair sprouted all over her lower belly, then spread up and down to join the patches forming under her arms and on her chest. Hands and feet stretched into paws, she watched, stunned as her palms split into pads, with fur filling in the creases. A slick tail emerged, soon engulfed in fur.
With her paws formed, she staggered over to the mirror to see the transformation. The patches of hair had now joined together and were developing into a lush orange coat. Her mouth ached and her eyes widened as her teeth grew into sharp fangs. Her fur continued up her neck and up her scalp, replacing her curls, and Amy watched as her face became fluffy. The transformation ended with a powerful orgasm and her face pushing out into a muzzle with a wet crunching noise.