Alessia the Defender (Patreon)

A story commission for Mashugana.

"What was that?" 

The half-orc looked up from the halfling he had been bullying, eyeing the woman standing behind him, one hand on what seemed to be a strangely wide dagger at her belt. "What does it matter to you?" he snorted, unimpressed.

She flinched, taken aback, not used to that reaction. Normally, one look was enough to put a stop to any trouble... But, then again, that was before... Well, she didn't want to think about that now.

"Perhaps you should pick on somebody your own size," she suggested, starting to lift the weapon out of its sheathe, letting the runes carved into the blade show. 

"Do you think that's you?" the half-orc looked her up and down. "Hardly."

Was he really still not getting the hint? She pulled the 'dagger' out the rest of the way, giving it a flick, the handle telescoping outwards, growing, revealing the weapon's true shape as a spear. She held it in front of her, certain that would do the trick, but, instead, the half-orc reached for the gigantic axe it had rested against the table, hefting it onto his shoulder. 

"All right, then," she shrugged. "Fine with me."

She planted a kick squarely on his chest, pushing him back, then swinging the apear at his legs. He dodged it, barely, and swung his axe at her. Her movement was a little slower, a little more clumsy, than usual, her cloak nearly tangling itself in her legs, the handle of the spear almost getting caught in it, reminding her why, normally, she wouldn't be fighting in it, but she ducked underneath the strike, popped up right in front of him, holding the edge of the blade to the half-orc's neck, a hair's breadth from slicing into his flesh.

She could see his cronies starting to move now, realizing their leader couldn't handle this after all, as they'd assumed, but he lifted his hand, chuckling. "Didn't expect that," he admitted. "I'll leave your boyfriend alone."

She didn't know who the halfling was, though she could see the blush on his face, whether it was from being rescued by a girl, or the half-orc assuming he was going out with a human. She had no idea who he was, and didn't have to... It was her duty to help those who couldn't help themselves, and it was clear that the little man was no warrior.

"Humans," she heard the half-orc complain to his crew. "It's like she thinks she's Alessia the Defender or something."

"How could she be?" one of the companions laugh. "She's actually wearing clothes!"

Alessia glanced down at herself, at the thick cloak, covering up the dusty dress she'd bought, the shopkeeper assuring her it was the latest fashion, although she hadn't seen anyone else wearing anything like it... To be fair, of course, she didn't spend much time with the kind of people who would have.

She was more than what she'd used to wear... Wasn't she? It was obvious they hadn't recognized her, even if they knew her name, but they were a bunch of stupid thugs... That didn't mean nobody else would, either. There had to be people who would know who she was, no matter what clothes she was in. If anything, she'd have thought her spear would have done the trick, yet, apparently, that wasn't the thing people thought of when it came to her.

"Do I... owe you anything, friend?" the halfling finally spoke up. "I don't have much on me, but..."

"No!" Alessia reacted, making the tiny man flinch as she gave the spear a flick, the handle retreating back into itself, letting her sheathe it at her belt once more. "I don't make my money by doing the right thing," she grumbled, annoyed she had to say it. At one time, not that long ago, she wouldn't have had to... The sight of her would have been enough.

Of course, that was back when she'd wear a chainmail bikini if she were to go into battle. It was a simple look, an iconic one, that gave her all the freedom of movement she could ever ask for, unlike this dress and cloak, and signalled to anyone who saw her, along with her flowing black hair, that they'd made a mistake if they got on her wrong side.

"I see," the halfling replied, not picking up on her hint at all. "Well, I thank you, good lady."

He didn't stick around, however, quickly finishing his drink and hurrying out, barely giving her time to sit down at the table, blushing and shifting uncertainly in her seat. He didn't know... Did he? She started to think about heading to her room, wondering why she'd bothered coming down in the first place, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Alessia?" it asked. "Is that you?"

She turned, surprised to see that she'd been right. "Jadis?" She rarely saw the witch out in public, and yet, here she was, in all her glory. Like most witches Alessia had encountered, she was an odd person, even ignoring the owl sitting on her shoulder, head turning and tilting to take in everything going on in the tavern.

The woman's hair was white, the opposite of Alessia's, although Alessia didn't think she was really that much older than her... It was hard to tell for sure, when Jadis wouldn't give her a straight answer when she asked. There was something youthful about her, definitely, and, at the same time, a youthful mischievousness dancing in her eyes whenever she spoke.

"Good work, Locasta," Jadis reached into one of her many, seemingly bottomless, pockets, pulling something out and feeding it to the owl, Alessia knowing it was probably a good thing she couldn't tell what, exactly, it had been. 

"What are you doing here?" Alessia asked. "You're a long way..."

"I'd heard some things," Jadis interrupted her. "So I had Locasta look for you, and here you are!"

Alessia nodded. "I am," she agreed, before trying again. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you, but... Why are you?"

"For you, my dear," Jadis sounded shocked, as if Alessia should have known. "Something is obviously wrong... I'm here to see if I can help."

Alessia's cheeks darkened as she shifted on the bench, a part of her wondering if Jadis already knew... She always had more knowledge than it seemed like she ought to. It was possible that, if anyone was going to be able to assist her with this, it would be Jadis... But, as much as she wanted an end to it, she couldn't bring herself to admit the truth.

"I-I'm not sure what you mean," she lied. "I just thought it was time for a change. Things can't stay the same forever, and..."

She paused, a familiar sensation building in her guts. Not now, she groaned inwardly, squirming, pushing her backside into the wood of the bench beneath her, to no avail. "I-It was kind of you to come all this way to check in on me, but if that's all you're here for, you might as well head back now," she sputtered, speaking as quickly as she could, trying to outrun the inevitable. "Right now..."

She gulped as a grumble, and a much ruder noise, emerged from her body, unbidden. "Pl-Please?" she whimpered, feeling more like a defenseless child than the fearsome warrior Jadis, and the rest of the land, knew her as, and, a moment later, it was over, thick, warm mush pouring into her pants, the noise of the tavern hopefully keeping too many others from overhearing... However, from the look on Jadis's face, the way her nose wrinkled - and Locasta's head shook - she knew she wasn't going to be able to hide what had happened from her.

"All right," she sighed, defeated. "Wh-Why don't we go to my room? I can tell you about it there..."

She blushed, the mass shifting as she pushed herself to her feet, anxiously adjusting her cloak, and the dress underneath, compulsively, hurrying upstairs, the witch behind her, closer than she was comfortable with, too close to deny what had happened, as if there was any real hope of that now anyway.

It was a nice room, for a place like this, with both a bed and a chair, the latter of which Alessia had almost taken automatically, stopping herself just in time, backside inches away from the seat. The bed wasn't much better, so she stayed on her feet, pacing, nose crinkling as the mess in the thing under her dress squelched with her every move.

"Are you sure you don't want to... take care of that first?" Jadis asked. "Do you need some help?"

"No!" Alessia whined, knowing she sounded like the petulant child she must also look like, but unable to stop herself. "I-I can wait until we're done here..."

"You could," Jadis agreed. "Should you? I don't want you getting a rash, dear."

A rash... Alessia hadn't considered that, though, of course, it was a very real possibility. She was probably very lucky she hadn't found that out first-hand. If she did... this... she'd clean herself up as soon as she could, but she was less good about handling it when she was 'only' wet. Mortifying as it was to admit, she'd been soggy for a while before her encounter with the half-orc, because she'd actually gotten used to that feeling... Used to it, like this was perfectly normal...

"Could you maybe... D-Do you have your own room?" Alessia fumbled for words, not wanting to ask Jadis to leave when she'd just arrived, yet wanting even less to do this in front of somebody she knew, and respected, and, she thought, had respect for her.

"I've just arrived," Jadis replied. "I intended to return if you didn't need my assistance."

Alessia opened her mouth, almost asking how Jadis intended to get all the way back to her hut tonight. Usually, it was best not to question that sort of thing. Alessia had no idea what kind of magic Jadis used, what the extent of its power was... Sometimes, she wondered if even Jadis knew.

"I-I don't NEED it," Alessia squeaked, not convincing anyone, including herself. "Just... L-Let me explain first..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alessia had thought, after all her dealings with Jadis, that she had grown accustomed to magic users. How different could one really be from another? Truth be told, she hadn't grown up with the finest of educations, but, as far as she knew, they were all, essentially, the same, the only difference coming from what they decided to call themselves, both their given names, and their titles.

Witches, wizards, warlocks, sorcerers... To her, they all blended together, and she'd never seen any reason to look into the matter any further. So, when she heard there was a sorceress terrorizing a town, holding it in her sway, she went in expecting someone like her friend, except evil... Or, more overtly evil, anyway. As much as she'd worked with Jadis, and, over the years, had formed an alliance with her, she still suspected, in the times when they weren't together, Jadis did some things she wouldn't agree with, to put it mildly.

Which was why Alessia didn't bother to get in touch with the witch. Why should she? In a fight, Jadis would be no match for her... Alessia was strong, fast, brutal... If she had to, she could close the distance between her and the other woman while she was still digging into her pouches for components, and mumbling prayers to whatever dark gods she got her powers from.

So she was feeling quite confident, marching up to the mansion the sorceress had occupied, forcing out the mayor and his family. Diplomacy wasn't her strong suit, but she'd give the woman a chance to explain herself, and to repent, and, if that didn't work, a few thrusts from her spear, and the matter would be resolved. 

The door swung open before she could raise her hand to knock on it, a voice echoing from further within, beckoning her, "I've been expecting you."

Not a good sign... Not the end of the world, either. Being sneaky was what thieves did, and Alessia was no thief. "Then you know why I'm here," she called, stepping in, surprised, though managing not to show it, when the door slammed shut behind her.

"Yes, yes," the voice returned. "You're here to defend, aren't you Alessia? That's very cute... But don't you think that's a childish way of looking at things? You can't always break things down that way... There aren't just people who need to be defended, and those who they should be defended from."

"No," Alessia shook her head, inching forward, pulling the spear from her belt and extending it, ready, "I've found it usually comes down to that pretty easily."

"Poor little Alessia," the voice mocked. "You always were a bit simple, weren't you? I suppose that's why you became a warrior... No need to think when all you have to do is hit the bad guys with your stick there."

"Let me poke you with the pointy end," Alessia smirked, "and we'll see if you still think it's a stick."

She turned the corner, and, finally, found her prey, seated on a large, ornate chair. Having thought she was about to confront somebody like Jadis, the reality of what she saw before her was quite disconcerting... This sorceress was nothing like the witch. 

Jadis had her own sort of beauty, but it was the same kind Alessia found in a tree that had been growing for centuries... A wild, natural beauty. The sorceress was something else entirely. Her gown was long and flowing, yet, the way it was cut, it left nearly as little to the imagination as Alessia's metal bikini, showing off milky-white skin, free from the tan the warrior had built up over the years, or her scars. Alessia could see why none of the men of the village had been able to face her... Even she, who normally wasn't attracted to other women, had a hard time not gawking.

"You're smaller than I thought you would be," the sorceress eyed Alessia. "That spear you carry is almost taller than you..."

That was something that rarely bothered Alessia, that she had an odd kind of pride about. She didn't have to be a big, hulking mass of flesh, like so many of the male warriors she'd seen, and fought... She was no halfling, however, she was on the shorter side, and, while she had plenty of muscles, they weren't absurdly large... And she could still beat just about anyone in a battle.

"I was right," the sorceress declared. "You're little more than an infant, aren't you?"

"You know," Alessia glowered, "I was going to give you a chance to come out of this with your life, if you promised to never show your face in this town again..."

"How adorable," the other woman teased. "You think this is your choice."

"You know me, obviously," Alessia said. "So, you know, if I pledge to kill you... I will. No matter what it takes, no matter how long I have to search for you, I will keep my word. Of course, in your case, I won't have to go far."

"Interesting," the sorceress nodded. "I wonder if I could make you break that pledge."

"You don't want to find out," Alessia told her. "Now, are you going to leave, or...?"

The sorceress stood from her seat at last, and, from the small table beside it, a large book raised as well, floating in the air, flopping open, words glowing. "I will do," the woman informed her, "anything I want."

That was enough for Alessia. "Then I guess you'll die," she replied, leaping forward, jabbing with her spear...

In a flash of light, the woman was gone, the book with her. Alessia's gaze had been firmly on her, but she hadn't seen her lips move, or her hands... That hadn't stopped her from using her magic, though. She'd thought, when she saw it move, the book had been like a familiar, like Locasta, just made, somehow, from an inanimate object... Now, she couldn't help wondering if there was more to it than that.

She spun around, searching for the sorceress, finding her directly behind her. She threw the spear this time, the woman vanishing, appearing a few few away, the spear flying through the space she'd been a split second earlier, embedding into the wall.

"That pledge of yours doesn't seem to be going so well," the sorceress observed.

It would take a moment to get the spear free, and Alessia wasn't going to give the magic-user that time, not when she could cast her spells in the blink of an eye. Luckily, she didn't need weapons. She jumped, kicking for the woman's head, the book slamming shut, flying upwards to block, then whipping around its mistress's body to stop Alessia's fist.

"No need to throw a tantrum," the sorceress smirked. "I know just what you need."

And that was when it had happened... When Alessia's life had changed forever... The book opened, words glowing a sickly, unnatural green, as Alessia, thinking that meant she had a free shot, prepared another kick...

Only to find her stance changing. She frowned, glancing down, eyes bulging at the sight that greeted her. The bottom half of her chainmail bikini, of the thing she'd worn for so long, had won countless battles in... Was gone. Or, rather, it had changed, hard metal shifting, expanding outwards, not unlike her spear, but softening as it went, bulging out into thick cloth. The only hint of metal left was a pair of pins, holding it around her waist.

"Much better," the sorceress nodded, as Alessia, dumbfounded, pawed at the garment in disbelief. "You think about things the way a child would, you're little larger than a child... So, that's what you shall be. It certainly suits you better than that ridiculous 'armor', if you can even call it that."

"I am not a child!" Alessia stomped her foot, wanting to point out that, short or not, she was plenty taller than most children she'd met... But even her stomp felt weak, off-balance thanks to how far apart her thighs were being pushed.

"No need to pout," the other woman mocked. "You're going to get what you want... I'll leave this place. I've gotten all I want from here anyway, and there are plenty of other, bigger cities that need a proper ruler. Unfortunately for you, dear... You will be staying in these."

"I will not!" Alessia wrinkled her nose.

"You will," she countered. "You don't have a choice... This isn't just for show, Alessia... You need these." She reached out, gave the cloth a pat... And Alessia gasped, feeling a warmth there, still spreading. She tried to press her legs together, to stop it... "That isn't going to work," the sorceress said. "For all time, you're going to be trapped in diapers."

The word hit Alessia as hard as any fist, knocking the air out of her lungs. "N-No!" she whined, nibbling at her bottom lip. 

"Yes," the sorceress replied. "And you see those pins? As strong as you are, little Alessia, you're not going to be able to take those out yourself... Those, or any other pins used to hold your diapers on. The big, bad Alessia the Defender is going to need somebody else to change her diapers."

Alessia whimpered, and, almost without thinking, she fell to her knees. "N-No," she repeated. "Pl-Please... Y-You can stay here..."

She hated herself for it... She'd never been willing to go back on her word like that, not unless she'd discovered the people who hired her had deceived her, and they were the ones who deserved to be slain instead... And yet, in a matter of moments, that's what she had been reduced to.

Even it hadn't worked. "Too late," the sorceress told her. "And, just so you know who did this to you... My name is Rowena. Of course, I won't be stupid enough to use it once I move on... I wouldn't want to make it too easy for you to find me."

And, in a flash of light, she was gone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"That is... quite the story," Jadis commented, once her friend had stayed silent long enough to let her know it was over. "What have you done since then?"

Alessia blushed, squirmed. "I-I couldn't face the villagers, especially not... like that... so I left. I-I stole the cloak from a laundry line, though I left more than enough gold behind to pay for it, and, in the next town, I-I found a prostitute and hired her to help... change me."

"A prostitute?" Jadis raised an eyebrow.

"Th-They know how to keep secrets!" Alessia defended herself. "I-I didn't know who else to turn to! And I bought myself some more clothes that would hide... these... and..."

"I see," Jadis interrupted her, having heard enough. "My instincts were right... You do need help. Don't worry, Alessia... We'll find this Rowena, no matter where she's gone, and we'll put a stop to this curse."

"We will?" Alessia looked up at her, relieved. "Oh, thank you, Jadis!" She gave the witch a big hug, the witch taken by surprise at first, then returning it, her hand sliding down, giving the lumpy seat of the warrior's diaper a pat. 

"Besides, you can't possibly afford to keep paying prostitutes to take care of this," she said. "You have spares?"

"Uh-huh," Alessia nodded bashfully, hurrying over to her bags, starting to dig through them. Jadis watched, bemused, trying not to think about how cute the other woman looked. 

She'd heard rumors - or, rather, Locasta had, from other familiars - that she had to assume were Rowena, but she decided to stay quiet about them, for now... Just like she was staying quiet about the counter-spell that she was certain would reverse most, if not all, of the curse. She was going to help Alessia, and, if they happened to find Rowena, she'd be glad to fight by her side... She wasn't going to speed the process up any more than it needed to be, however. The sorceress had been right about one thing... The diapers did suit her little warrior friend, and she was happy to have the chance to enjoy it as long as possible.