Prompt: The main character of your story wakes up one day with powerful druidic magic...and with a set of claws and fluffy ears. Your family has some explaining to do.

**

For days now, I had been feeling unwell and didn't feel like doing anything. The king hadn't summoned me either, as he was ill, and his two sons were at war, so I had no critical assignments. The wizard hadn't been seen since I delivered that cursed message to him, and thinking about it only made me more melancholic. Finally, I pulled myself together, realizing that sitting idle was even worse, and visited Folwell, who usually provided tasks. Luther was there, worried about the same thing as me: the lack of messages, especially now that war was raging in the kingdom. This was not logical, as one would expect the most secret messages to be exchanged during such times.

The absence of a person orchestrating the conspiracies was due to the wizard's disappearance, but I kept quiet about any possible involvement in his disappearance. My fellow messenger had just refused a task, but I was willing to take anything just to avoid sitting at home, dwelling on things. The task was to deliver a message to a regular resident of a brothel. It was simple; instead, the location deterred Luther. I had to go to Aden, the city of sin, where I had been a few times before and had no issue, so I accepted.

Since the task wasn't urgent, I planned to leave the following day, seeing no need to rush, especially since I felt weak and couldn't understand why.

The following day, after a strange dream in which I was a cat licking my fur, I woke up feeling very peculiar. Everything in my room seemed to have shrunk. When I sat up, I noticed my legs hanging off the bed. Perhaps it wasn't that my room had shrunk but that I had grown. As I looked down, I saw that my shins were covered in soft fur, and my toes had claws instead of neat little nails. Not only my legs but also my forearms had the same soft fur and claws.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to erase what I thought was a bad dream, and walked to the mirror. The first thing that caught my eye was my ears. They were not as long and had lost their green color; they were still slightly pointed but now furry. A small, kind face with red hair and tiny freckles on the nose looked back at me from the mirror.

What on earth is this? I wondered. What curse is upon me? Is this why I had been feeling so strange for days? If it wasn't a curse, then what could it be?

As I pondered these questions, I decided to visit my mother and ask if there had ever been such transformations in our family, then head to Aden.

I didn't expect much from my mother, as she never told me anything about my father whenever I asked. Seeing things from a higher vantage point on the street was strange, and having men nod at me as they passed was weird. It was as if I was no longer the little ugly goblin, which I wasn't, at least in appearance. This was a certainty, as I had even considered in my room that maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me.

My mother was sweeping the yard of her miserable little shack when she saw me. It seemed she recognized me because she exclaimed, "Oh, just what we needed!" She even clapped her hands together, and the broom fell from her grasp. She hurried inside, and I followed.

"What is this? Do you know anything about it? Is it related to my father?" I babbled, looking at her angrily.

"Your father? Oh, please!" She waved her hand dismissively and stared at me in fright.

"Then what is it? I look like some sort of druid."

"Do you have magical powers?" she asked, sitting at the table.

"I don't know, I have no idea. But tell me, what is this? If it isn't my father's legacy, then what? Has someone cursed me?" I pleaded.

"It's not your father's legacy; mine," she blurted out. "A very rare bloodline. In my youth, I always transformed during the full moon, but after you were born, it stopped. Strangely, it's appeared in you."

"Why have you never told me about this?" I gaped.

My mother stood up and started making tea, signaling our conversation was over. She always retreated into silence by making tea. I waited a bit longer, but she didn't answer any more questions, lost in her thoughts.

I had to leave to deliver the message to Aden. After all, the recipient didn't need to know who delivered the message—it could even be a druid.

This shape-shifting was much more pleasant than when I was in the skin of an elf girl. Here, I felt like myself; nothing in my surroundings seemed strange. I felt entirely comfortable in this new skin. I was much taller, which influenced how I related to the other townsfolk. For instance, I didn't need to apologize or let anyone go ahead of me. It was as if I had received a gift, and I was curious to see if this state would return with every full moon.

And speaking of gifts, something interesting happened. I had always felt hidden, like someone invisible, which had advantages when delivering secret messages.

As I headed toward the brothel, the moment I stepped through the door, I felt all eyes on me. I knew it was because of my appearance. As I looked around, one pair of eyes seemed familiar. As I moved closer to the owner of those eyes, I had to look again, and yes, there was no doubt—it was the dark elf boy.

Great, so that cursed hellcat had arranged for us to meet again. The only problem was that I wasn't myself at the moment in appearance. I stared at him too long, and he must have taken it as a sign because he stood up and walked toward me with determination. I wanted to escape because I had no idea what I wanted, and this had to happen when I was a druid? Was this part of the magic, or was it just a coincidence?

The dark elf was suddenly standing before me, leaving the previous lady he had sat with at a cozy, dimly lit table. "I noticed you noticed me," he said, reaching for my hand, lifting it, and kissing my palm before looking up at me.

Does he think I belong here? The same irresistible smile was on his face as when he helped me at the market to avoid falling. But now, I wasn't that little goblin girl.

He was sizing up my body, and it made me feel embarrassed. To hide my confusion, I looked for the owner, and when I saw him, I grabbed my dream man's chin and directed his face towards mine: "I need to take care of something. Can you excuse me for a moment? I'll be back, and we can continue this conversation, whatever this is." I was so decisive that I even surprised myself.

The dark elf seemed to like what I said because he nodded and pressed my palm to his chest. "Of course, as the lady wishes... I'll take room four and wait for you there." And again, this kissing-the-palm thing, which I couldn't understand at all.

I quickly left before I did something foolish. The brothel owner looked at me in surprise when I explained why I was there. He led me down a narrow hallway to the intended recipient, to whom I delivered the message. Nothing unusual—the usual stuff, owing someone now collecting the debt. Despite hiding in the brothel, they had found him.

I felt sorry for the poor guy. Messages like these never end well. But I didn't have much time to dwell on it because I stood in front of room four with trembling knees. And I had no idea what I was doing. That's why I betrayed the wizard, so now I had to see it through since this was my wish.

When I entered the room, my dark elf was lounging on the bed, and suddenly I found myself in my dream. But something was off. Somehow, my arm was always in the wrong place, or his was poking my side, and the kisses were... slobbery. Very much so. And I couldn't get over it.

I no longer knew what I really wanted. Was this my wish or something else? It didn't help that he didn't even realize I wasn't the druid he liked.

"Tell me," I finally blurted out. "What did you like about me?"

He smiled, sizing me up. "I have a thing for those little fluffy ears!"

Well, I had never heard anything more terrible. "Tell me, do you remember a goblin girl you helped in the Narig bazaar so she wouldn't fall?"

He looked at me, confused. "Goblin girl? No, I don't recall. When was this? And why do you ask?"

How was I going to untangle myself from this? I had no idea. "This goblin friend told me about a very kind dark elf she once met, and your description fits perfectly."

He shook his head. "I've never heard of a druid who befriends goblins..."

Fair enough; neither had I. I smiled awkwardly. "She's a very special goblin..." I apologized but was angry at myself—why should I apologize?

"Well, I'm sorry, I don't remember your friend. Maybe it wasn't even me..."

I didn't like walking at night, but I set out anyway. I had a lot to think about. First, I still needed to find out if I had any magical powers. And I didn't know how to find out. No matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn't move objects.

But I knew I was trying to distract myself from my other thoughts. Lately, many things turned out not to be what they seemed. For example, the dark elf boy I had daydreamed about didn't even remember me. And I still need to learn his name.

I wasted a wish on him and senselessly endangered the wizard. Is he still alive?

And how would this story have turned out if I hadn't turned into a druid?