"Where Fools Walk Freely: chapter seven" by Meg J Milano

The Girl pulled herself onto the beach. She was exhausted. Swimming to the island of Clary, took much longer than she had anticipated, especially with the beating she had taken last night.

Still she had to laugh, as she pictured the faces of all the men on board of the 'Rose'. They had all looked so dumbfounded. Clearly, they had never seen a changeling before.

She knew that she shouldn't laugh, but the memory was so amusing. The Girl had particularly enjoyed the look on Win's face. That man was always smirking, like he was better than everyone else. He had almost caught her in True Shape too. Not just once, but twice. The first was when she was out on deck, looking at the moon. Then after they had fought, she had began to lose concentration, and her shape slipped. He was so infuriating, just because he had won a few games he thought he was a gift to the population!

And Borka. Ha! Borka had looked like he was about to explode. The Girl shrieked with laughter.

After her fight with Win, the Girl had retreated to her cabin. Thankfully the rest of the challengers were still asleep. She sat down on her cot, and slipped into her true form, preparing to heal.

Changelings healed very fast, but the effort of extreme healing usually caused them to lose consciousness. This was precisely what The Girl did. The next thing she knew, Borka was standing over her shouting his head off. The man seemed to like shouting, since he did it often. She had been dragged up on deck, but not before she was able to take the boy's shape again. One of the stupid boys had screamed.

Up on deck, the rest of the ship's occupants were all gathered. Apparently the captain had been giving a lecture about violence, when she had been discovered. She was so stunned she couldn't even defend herself, while the the captain was informed of what had happened.

She couldn't believe it, another opportunity lost, and all because of that know-it-all Win. If he hadn't angered her, none of this would be happening. He was, she noticed, standing near the end of the circle. She could just barely see the bruises on his face and chest. She frowned, he was obviously trying to figure out what was going on.

The Girl smirked, she had broken one of his ribs the night before, and it seemed to be causing him some pain. The cut above his eye had mostly healed. Unfortunately.

The captain was shouting himself horse, and his face was purple. Win had finally broken through the circle and demanded to know why everyone was yelling. She squinted in the harsh light, and wrinkled her nose, He is always demanding something.

The captain, told the young man that The Girl was a demon. He referred to her as Max, the name she had given Telly when he asked. She had told the captain the same name on the ship the first day.

The Girl calmly informed the bumbling man that she was NOT a demon, but he wasn't listening.

Borka said that he would kill her if she didn't leave the ship. Always a death threat The Girl thought, Why can't they just say goodbye, come back soon?

She began to back up toward the plank when the idea came to her. The Girl didn't usually show people her true form, but she knew it would scare the men. The Girl wanted revenge, and since she couldn't kill anyone, she decided that scaring them out of their pants would suffice.

''You islanders always so friendly?'' she asked. ''First I get beat up, and now your going to kill me.'' The Girl kept talking, but at the same time felt herself beginning to change.

The men were all slack jawed. The Girl smiled, and turned to Win. He had the strangest expression, not so much fear as... shock. There was something else too, but she didn't have time to figure out what it was. The Girl wished him luck on his reputation, and flipped backwards off the plank.

Once in the water, she changed herself into a Minak, the fasted fish shape she knew. The Minak, swam for four hours before arriving on the beach of Clary island.

The Girl sighed with pleasure, she would still compete in the games, but she would take a different shape. A woman this time.

After some thought, she decided to change into the red-head again. It was one of her favorite shapes. She also had to find some clothes, on account of her challenger clothes had been stretched and ripped during the change into a Minak. The Minak was considerably larger than Max, and they hadn't survived the swim. The Girl was now on a deadly island, naked and shivering.

But, she was laughing. She couldn't wait to see Win again and smack that smirk right off his face.