Rampant Growth; Leaping Ambush

The Duke was kinda right. The path out from the palace through the woods was awful. Every twenty feet it was some bump or another, and the bouncing was far more noticeable with my… Well, you get the idea.

Marie and I rode in the fantasy equivalent of a limousine with the mysterious maid Margot and two knights. A carriage of some more knights both preceded and followed us, along with a few cavalry interspersed throughout the convoy. The knights hadn’t spoken a word, which I was totally fine with since it meant fewer opportunities to make a fool of myself. Nor had Margot said anything, instead silently glowering at Marie and me since we clambered inside.

At least the seats were comfortable, and we had a view of the dark, lush forest passing us through the cabin's windows. The trip was supposed to take two days. We began at the palace, but the path eastward took us just outside the capital before curving into dense woods. We’d be sleeping in a small village on the border of the Lumineuse Kingdom and the Andraste Empire, Marie told me. That was the horrible-sounding place to the East, apparently. The King just despised the place so much that he refused to acknowledge them by name. From how he spoke about it, it truly was a place deserving of no respect.

As we progressed through the afternoon, I took the opportunity to do some thinking in the silence of the carriage. The hamster cage in my skull spun as we travelled, trying to figure out why I had been dropped into the world of my own character.

Okay. I’m in the body of my VTuber. I’m a girl. How did I get here?

I thought back to the moment the world around me had changed.

Just drank some tea. Streaming programs, open. At the exact instant I pressed ‘go live’, everything shifted. But does that mean that my body isn’t there anymore? Is this a simulation or something? I find that really hard to believe. More likely, it’s a dream of some kind? But I went to sleep last night and woke up still a girl. And I didn’t feel sleepy at all when I started stream. Unless this is a dream happening from the night after that shift, and I never woke up to start stream?

A particularly turbulent bounce jostled me in my seat, and I felt my body jiggle.

Okay, nope, dreams don’t feel this real. I am 100% awake right now.

But what else could this even be? I’ve never heard of someone getting whisked away to another world in real life, only in anime and stuff. Unless…

A horrifying realization dawned on me.

Unless they never returned to their old world.

Am I stuck here? Forever? Will I be stuck as a woman for the rest of my life?

As I thought this, despite the seemingly dire circumstances, I felt no dread. Maybe it could be nice, you know, getting to be a princess, having maids wait on me hand and foot… I guess I don’t hate this body. I’m really pretty, too.

But wait, if I stay stuck here, I’m going to have to actually marry that snake, oh God. I can’t take that! Even if I don’t mind being a woman, I’d have to marry a dude. I’ve gotta find a way out of-

Suddenly, muffled shouting from ahead of us snapped me back to the physical world. Then, the whinnying of horses and the dull sound of metal on… something. The carriage abruptly stopped.

Unsure, I looked to Marie, whose brow was furrowed. That’s worrisome. Even she doesn’t know what’s going on. The knights in our carriage stood up as soon as we stopped moving. One of them finally spoke, a deep, gruff baritone blocked in part by his metal helmet.

“Your Highness, please stay here. We’ll go investigate.”

The other one nodded. “We’re not too far from Cernnos Village. It ought not be too bad. Probably Daniel arguing with someone, again,” he laughed. Opening the door of the carriage, they stepped down onto the forest floor, swords at the ready.

The one who had spoken first stepped out, looking to the left, then the right.

A second later, he flew back, hitting the ground as if impaled by a spear. His head smacked against the wheel of the carriage with a loud clunk.

I shrieked. I couldn’t control it, okay?! It was scary. Marie pulled me away from the window, throwing me behind her.

It was twilight, and the encroaching night shrouded the woods in darkness. The lamps on the carriages provided little solace from the shadow. It fell eerily silent, my heavy breathing piercing the quiet. Though he had been laughing a moment prior, the other knight now stanced up, completely alert. Marie peered out the window next to Margot.

“His Majesty didn’t mention anything on the Eastern border, did he, Margot?”

“No.” Margot responded, her eyes darting from tree to tree with a scowl.

“What’s going on? Marie! Tell me!” I shrieked.

At the edge of the trees, something shot out of the void. The other knight, looking around for whatever had hit the first, got knocked onto his back, too.

“Argh!”

“Sir Robert!” Marie cried out.

“I’m fine, mademoiselle! Get behind cover!” He sat up and yanked something out of his torso.

It was a bone. A giant rib, by the looks of it. The tip was coated in Sir Robert’s blood, though not much; his armor had stopped the worst of it. A voice cried out from the carriage ahead of us, in the dim light.

“Scourge!”

“Men! Protege Formation!” Sir Robert shouted out to the rest of the caravan as he shook awake the knight who had bonked his head against the wheel. From inside the carriage, I watched as all the knights and cavalry rushed to our location and formed a circle, protecting us. Protecting me.

Then, from where the rib-spear had flown, a shadow emerged. Lurching out of the darkness came a massive, hellish creature.

O- Oh my god. I’m going to die.

The word ‘monster’ would be applicable, I suppose. But this beast was unlike anything I had ever seen before in my life, fiction or otherwise. Silhouetted like a giant, thick bear on its hind legs, it was about ten feet tall and coated in grey fur. That part wasn’t so bad. The horrifying thing was the bone. From its chest, dozens of ribs protruded at unnatural angles, leaking blood onto the ground. Patches of missing fur and flesh revealed plates of bone, and parts of its skeleton breached through the skin on the joints of its limbs. Two long and devilish horns sprouted from its giant head.

Mix a bear with a bobcat and a buffalo, and then yank its bones around, and you’d have a good idea of how this thing appeared. A real raid boss.

Then, two smaller ones emerged. They were different, their basic structure more akin to a giant wolf. Errant bone was still the primary feature, though these looked more ready to bite than anything else.

The images seared themselves into my mind. I could never forget them. In that moment, I was too petrified to even think.

Slowly, about seven more ghastly beasts came into view, completely surrounding our caravan. Two came from the direction of the carriages ahead of us. It looked like they had a gash or two in their arms, but it was impossible to tell with their unnatural form if it had been inflicted by one of the knights or not. A shorter knight fell to his knees. Robert shouted in response.

“On your feet, Daniel! We must protect the princess at all costs!”

“I-... I can’t… It’s pointless.”

“Is this your first time seeing Scourge?! Get the hell up, kid! All our lives are on the line, here!”

“But… our weapons. They won’t…”

A knight next to him grabbed his arm and pulled him up. He was trembling.

My heart sank in despair. Are they going to… To die? For my sake?

The big bear-thing beast roared, drawing all eyes to it. Wrapping a giant paw around one of the protruding ribs, it jerked its arm, and a sickening snap reverberated through the forest. In a swift motion, it raised the rib behind its massive head and chucked it at us. The projectile screamed through the cold air and lodged itself in the side of our carriage with a thud.

The circle of beasts began to move in for the kill.

It’s over. It was nice knowing you, Marie. Thanks for the help.

As I made my final goodbyes, a flash of arctic-blue light erupted inside the bear-thing, its ribs casting an internal shadow, and it crumpled to the ground.

An unfamiliar voice shouted, “Diana, over here!” Then, from behind the beast, a blue light shone, and the owner of the voice revealed himself.