Things were hectic for everyone over the next several days in the game. That very same day that H3lls-Pwn had faced their punishment, the system had announced a new in-game event called ‘Save Haven’ which would last for the next week and grant double experience for hunting, gathering, fishing, and scavenging quests as well as double combat experience and a free skill download of the fishing skill for all players interested in participating. So, while H3lls-Pwn was being both worked and starved to death while harvesting crops under the watchful eyes of guards from both the village and the Fae Glade, most of the other players were availing themselves of the benefits of the new event and helping to increase the village’s supplies in various ways.

There were several specific quests with hunting, gathering, or fishing quotas to be met on the village square’s new quest board, as well as scavenging quests for specific goods for the village. There were player-posted scavenging quests as well, but since players couldn't assign an XP value to them, Sheriff Shaw was keeping herself available as GM to do so before those quests were posted on the board. Not that she was staying in her office all the time. No, in fact, that very first afternoon of the event I had taken Becky out to a quiet spot outside of the village, along with Venika and my two loyal guards to give her an introduction to Fae spell-casting. This amounted to teaching her a few of the more basic sigils, how to clear and focus her mind, and then getting her to practice the flash-freeze spell until I was sure that she had it down.

During those first three days of the event, my party worked the various quests in and around Haven, trying to help pad the village’s food supplies a bit and assist in building up the ever-growing defensive wall, and once a day I would give Becky another magic lesson to see how she was progressing. I felt that it would be a good idea for me, in particular, to be seen in the village helping them to recover from the disastrous fire before going on what could be a lengthy quest into the city to fulfill various scavenging requests from both the village and the Fae Glade. Spending all of that time in the village interacting with people and largely being the center of attention wherever I went wasn’t easy for me, but I managed with some judicious use of my focusing exercises to keep both the body dysphoria and social anxiety at bay.

On the fourth morning of the event, I awoke well before dawn. Naerysse quickly assisted me through my new morning routine and I didn’t seem to have to hide within myself near as much as I had been at first when she bathed and pampered me. The discomfort and dysphoria were still there, of course, scratching insistently at my brain but it seemed that it was getting more bearable and I was having to do less and less to ignore it. Was I starting to adjust to my new virtual body?

Once my Nymph attendant had assisted me in getting into my leather armor after I had gotten into some casual and comfortable clothes, she gave me a piece of paper with Elvish writing on it and some words in English here and there as well that were easy to recognize. Among the English words were shampoo and conditioner, so I had to assume that it was some sort of shopping list for while we were in the city. Reading it over, I realized that a lot of it was stuff that she used in my morning care regimen, but there were other things too like cosmetics and a list of useful plants and herbs that didn’t grow locally.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get everything on this list Naerysse,” I warned her carefully after looking it over. “Some of these things are oddly specific, right down to the color and brand and I don’t think that the plants, or even seeds, are likely unless we happen to run across a greenhouse.”

“It is merely a wish list, Your Highness,” she replied with a smile. “The beauty and self-care products were specifically suggested by Her Majesty. She believes that the cosmetics in question should suit your coloring and each of the products on the list is known to be environmentally friendly, made from natural ingredients, and biodegradable. The plants are some that we would like to cultivate locally for their various properties, but everything else on the list is intended for your use, Your Highness.”

“Oh, okay… wait just a second… the cosmetics are for me?! And what’s this note about nicer clothes?” I was frowning now as I looked over the list with a new perspective.

“Well Your Highness, since you insist on spending so much time among the Humans and wearing their clothes while doing so instead of dressing in Fae garments except for when absolutely necessary, Her Majesty has decided that you cannot keep doing so in those casual clothes that you wear,” the Nymph replied with a shrug.

Of course, it just had to be Moira who thought this up. What was with her trying to get me in the girliest or most revealing outfits imaginable? “What’s wrong with dressing casually? Especially when I might see combat and have to wear this armor over top,” I argued.

“You are a princess of the Autumn Court and even when among Humans you must hold yourself to a higher standard so if you are going to dress in their clothes, they should be beautiful and high-quality clothes. I am certain that your companions could help you to choose something suitable and Her Majesty is already planning on having some proper armor made for you. It should be far more protective, better looking, and more appropriate to your station than what you are currently wearing,” Naerysse answered with a sniff of disdain while looking at my leather armor. “You represent the Autumn Court and we cannot have you appearing like some lower-class Human. Of course, for the clothing, you could always just gather some high-quality materials and allow the Brownies to make you some proper Fae clothes. That is your choice, Your Highness.”

Much to my dismay, I could actually understand that and even agree with it to a point. I was the princess of the Autumn Court, the only one, and as such, it was reasonable that I project a certain image to the public when dealing with the other Races, which I was going to be doing a lot. Why did I have to be the only player on the server to choose a Yseil'dhraí? Why couldn’t someone else have had to deal with all this crap while I got to play with magic? I might not have even minded the being a girl thing so much if I didn’t have all this princess shit added on top.

I was the only one though, and that made me the princess and gave me the responsibilities along with the title. So, since the choice was mine to make, would I prefer to be in stuffy high-class Human clothes, or would I prefer to embrace my Fae nature? I found myself leaning toward Fae clothes since I was starting to slowly become more comfortable with my new body and it occurred to me that once I was, I probably wouldn’t have any discomfort about even being naked in front of other people. I had wanted to play a Fae so I might as well go all in. I could even try for a mix of both depending on how comfortable the higher-end Human clothes were since we were going to be looking for materials and sewing supplies for Laesa our Sprite seamstress friend anyway. Getting more for the Brownies to make me clothes wasn’t going to be a huge imposition.

Regardless of what I chose, my sister and I would need some new undergarments and they would have to be either pure silk or pure cotton since it seemed that all Fae share an allergy to synthetics. Nishalle and I had both noticed that our current underclothes, as well as some of our outer clothes, were leaving an itchy rash if worn for more than an hour or two and they were eighty-five percent cotton. We hadn’t even been able to touch anything that was one hundred percent synthetic fibers without feeling like our fingertips were burning. In fact, for the past three days, we had been wearing our F.I.T suits underneath our clothes instead of the bras and panties that we had scavenged to spare ourselves the discomfort.

“I will see what I can find Naerysse,” I promised after some thought. “I’m not even sure how much we’ll be able to bring back or how long we’ll be gone. The truck can’t carry all that much and we’ll have to be careful how much gas we use up since we can’t be sure if we’ll be able to find more. I’ll see you when we get back.”

“I understand Your Highness, good luck and please be cautious,” the Nymph replied, hugging me before letting me head downstairs for breakfast.

Rei had been waiting for me so that we could head downstairs together. She had apparently woken up in one of her hyper-feminine moods today because her Japanese features were far prettier than her normal female form, her curves more pronounced, and she was wearing clothes meant to display them; a form-fitting pink crop top and a short pleated skirt that showed off her great legs. It even looked like she was wearing makeup and bright red nail polish, though I was pretty sure that she had cheated and used shapeshifting for that. Everyone was already eating when we arrived at the dining room, despite the early hour, and the moment we sat down Amoiraishe smiled at me and inquired, “I trust that Naerysse gave you the wish list Taelya?”

“Yes she did,” I responded with a nod as I filled a plate with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and some fresh strawberries. “I don’t know how much we’ll be able to find or even bring back, but we’ll do what we can. We’ll try to get enough food and split the take between the village and the Glade as well if we can manage it on top of the scavenging requests.”

“Perhaps you should see if you can find another mall or some large outlet stores. You should be able to get most of what’s on the various lists that way,” the Fae queen suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea, we’ll be able to get medicines and other supplies for the village that way too and maybe another vehicle or two in the parking lots. It would be nice to get certain things in bulk too, like bathroom tissue and monthly supplies since those all burned up with the market,” Venika said from atop Lissany’s shoulders.

“Monthly supplies?” Pete asked, appearing somewhat perplexed.

“You know, tampons, pads, pantyliners and such,” Rei supplied casually, causing the men, and former-man at the table to blanch.

“Wh… why would we need those?” I asked uncertainly. “This is a game it’s not like we will really…”

“What part of ‘As Real as Reality,' aren’t you getting Sis?” Nishalle pointed out candidly. “We’ve had to eat and use the bathroom just like we do with our real-life bodies, and this is another natural process of the body, well the female body anyway. After my test run some of the techs told me that you could even get pregnant and have kids if you play your character long enough, though we won’t be in near long enough for the latter during closed beta.”

“I know for a fact that it can happen because my period started yesterday morning,” Venika added with a frown on her tiny face. “That’s why we were late for breakfast yesterday, and I can assure you that there are no Sprite sized monthly supplies, I’m having to improvise and it was messy at first. Hopefully, we can come up with something that works for Sprites soon, aside from the moss and scraps of cloth solution that some of the Fae NPCs said that they used before being trapped in the Veil.”

“Yeah, she kinda freaked me out when she was trying to find some way to deal with it,” Lissany said with a slight blush. “She had to give me ‘the talk’ afterward. I never thought I’d be able to experience that part of being a girl, even in this game, I think it’s awesome.”

“I am sorry Taelya, but they are correct, this is something you’re going to have to go through while here,” Amoiraishe said with a sigh and a guilty expression on her face. “I could tell you what you’ll need to know after breakfast if you like, this is not something that we should discuss while you’re trying to eat. If you would rather not hear it from me, I am certain that one of the others could…” she trailed off hopefully.

“Nope, not happening, I already gave that talk once this week,” Venika said with a shake of her head.

“Not me either, I may be in a girly mood, but no matter what form I wear having that conversation with my fiancée is just going to end up awkward for both of us. I’m glad I can avoid that problem by just keeping shifted out of my natural form when it comes up.” Rei pointed out before turning her attention far too eagerly to the food on her plate.

“Don’t look at me,” Nishalle stated with a frown. “I’m the younger sister, I was supposed to receive the talk not give it to her. Besides, we’re in the game and you’re her mother in here, so it’s your job.”

Pete and Grell were no help whatsoever they just gave me a look of pity as Pete mumbled, “I am so glad that I chose not to play a girl this time around.”

Once we had finished eating the others had hurried away to start putting our camping gear and enough food supplies to last a couple of days in the truck. Because we were going to be gathering supplies and necessities for Haven as well as for the Autumn Court we had been allowed to fill the truck with gas as well as a jerrycan in case we couldn’t find any in the city. So while the others abandoned me to load the gear and supplies, Amoiraishe took me aside for a very awkward conversation.

She started by telling me how the Fae used to deal with the problem in the old days, with a strip of absorbent moss wrapped in a piece of cloth. Then she went on to explain all the modern and ‘more convenient’ ways of dealing with one’s monthly visitor. Tampons, pads, pantyliners, methods of birth control, and even pregnancy. She unloaded all of it on me in a no-nonsense way that told me I had better get used to the idea that at the moment while we were in the game, these were possibilities that very much applied to my current self.

I had had the birds and bees talk before from my real-life mother, but as awkward and embarrassing as I had thought that was at the time, this time it was even worse. When she was finally finished, my face was probably indistinguishable from my bright red hair. “Okay…. Geez… that is far more than I ever wanted to know about how a woman’s body works. Can I go scavenging now? Maybe fighting monsters will be less traumatic.”

“You needed to know these things now,” Amoiraishe insisted with a sigh. “You may go, but be careful out there and please be aware that I may not be around when you get back. The prisoners on the farm are beginning to weaken from the hard work and lack of food and water, I believe that they will die within the next day or so and once they have all done so I will be leaving the game to remove them from their F.I.Ts myself, escort them to the lobby, and inform them of just how badly that they have fucked up.” There was a predatory gleam in her eyes as she spoke the last.

I shivered at that, glad that I wasn’t the one who had gotten on Moira’s bad side as I asked, “You’ll have to get some new people to take their place right? And you mentioned having some other things to do while you’re out of the game.”

The Fae queen didn’t lose that smile on her face, quickly replying, “Yes, but I have just the people in mind if they are willing to accept my offer. Hopefully, they will realize what a good deal it is once I give them the choice. I will likely be out of the game for a few days in-game time though since not only will I have to get them sorted out with their new characters, but I also wish to talk to my lawyers and my counterparts at the London, New York, and Tokyo offices. I think I know just how to deal with my Board of Directors and the investors. Should I be gone when you return I will leave word that you are to be in charge of the Autumn Court in my absence.”

“Well, I’m glad that you have some people in mind, and that you have some ideas on how to save your company and the game. You may be back before we are though, depending on how lucky we get during our search,” I told her with a shrug as I stood up from the couch that we had been sitting on for our conversation.

“I wish you and your party good fortune Taelya, just please, be careful out there. I don’t want any of you getting hurt, especially you. I’ll see you soon,” she said as she stood up as well and wrapped me up in a hug.

I felt only slightly awkward hugging her back and once she released me I gave her a confident smile. “Don’t worry about us, we’ll be careful and cover each others’ backs. I’ll see you when you get back, good luck Mo… Moira.” My cheeks flushed at my near slip of the tongue as I left the room to join the others.

It had been dawn when we passed through Haven on our way back toward the city. We made our way straight south along the two-lane road that most of the other players had followed out of the city during the Deadrush and before entering the city itself we found ourselves upon a hill overlooking the city. Before entering the city proper I had Grell pull over to the side of the road while we let Venika fly out the window to do some scouting. With her flight and her Farsight ability, I was hoping that she could save us some time searching.

It was nearly an hour later that the Sprite returned to us looking a bit flustered and breathing heavily. “No luck Mom?” Lissany inquired with a worried frown.

“No, I just had to dodge a couple of falcons that thought I might make for a tasty dinner,” Venika said with a suffering sigh as she fluttered through the window to land on Rei’s shoulder in the front seat. I think I found a good possibility though. I saw a Costco and a Walmart in fairly close proximity to one another. There’s a gas station too and they’re not too far from the edge of the city, but that’s not even the best part.”

“What’s the best part?” I asked, suddenly curious by the smile that was lighting up the Sprite’s face.

“Anyone know how to drive a semi?” she asked.

Grell started laughing. “You mean there’s one there? Pete’s job IRL is driving big trucks like that.”

“There’s one behind the Costco, so hopefully we can find the keys and drive that sucker back to Haven loaded with supplies,” Venika said, beaming from ear to ear.

“If we can get it loaded I can drive it,” Pete assured us.

I nodded as I considered what our game plan should be and then spoke up. “Maybe we should do that tomorrow then when we’ll have a full day ahead of us to locate and load everything we want. They should have most of what we want so I’d like to try and find some of the harder to get items first. We’ll likely need to find an electronics store for some of the things that Grell and Ashura need, they are pretty specific, and Nishalle and I could really use undergarments that aren’t a F.I.T suit and clothes that don’t feel like they’re trying to burn us alive. I’d also like to find a large fabric and sewing supplies outlet since we’ll have a better chance of finding natural fabrics that the Fae can handle wearing there. Ideally, I’d like to find a secure place to set up camp tonight too, preferably not too far from the location of the two big stores.”

I was feeling very uncomfortable by the time that we found the first store that matched one of our pressing needs. I wasn’t the only one feeling that way either, we were all feeling on edge and ready to jump at shadows though none of us was trying to let it show. “Why so glum, Your Highness?” Nishalle asked after we had broken into Intimate Dreams, a store that seemed to have specialized in sexy underclothes and sleepwear that damn near crossed the line into inappropriate. “Cheer up, we’re about to get some underclothes that won’t drive us crazy.”

“Yeah they may not drive us crazy, but anyone who happens to see us in them is another story,” I grumbled back as I looked over a very skimpy pair of crimson-hued panties.

“Oh come on, these are really nice, all silk and lace so they shouldn’t bother our allergy. And nobody has to see you in them but you, me, and Rei, that’s why the others are waiting outside and standing guard while we do our ‘shopping’. And just look at these price tags, half the underwear in I own in the real world didn’t cost this much together, but then I’m pretty practical I guess,” she said forcing an overly-casual shrug. “Now let's get out of these clothes and try some of this stuff on while you tell me what’s really bothering you, Sis.”

I sighed and began removing my armor. “It’s too quiet, and we haven’t spotted a single zombie since entering the city two hours ago. The city was crawling with the undead when we left during the Deadrush, but now nothing. I keep feeling like something is about to jump out of the shadows any minute.”

“Yeah, it’s getting to me too,” the Tokh'dhraí admitted with a sigh of her own as she finished stripping off her armor and started pulling off her top. “We’re all getting nervous. Venika didn’t even spot any undead during her scouting forays, and they can’t have all just up and disappeared, at least not without a reason.”

“Yeah, that’s what worries me,” I mumbled as I finished pulling off my own shirt and shimmied out of my jeans. Both were one hundred percent cotton and Nishalle was wearing something similar since they were some of the few clothes that we had gotten during the Deadrush that didn’t irritate our skin. We had hardly noticed the allergy at first, but it seemed to get more sensitive by the day.

We started trying to find things in our sizes, or that at the very least looked like they might fit us and trying them on. Since Rei was in a really girly mood she was getting a few things as well, but this trip was mostly for me and Nishalle since we couldn’t wear synthetics or blends. Once my sister and I had each found two dozen bras and pairs of panties that fit okay we stuffed them into large shopping bags along with some baby doll nighties and silk bathrobes that Nishalle had insisted we should have as well, after all, we were worth it. Nishalle had gone with garments that were white, black, and lavender with a lavender robe, while I had gone with roughly the same but crimson instead of lavender since it was one of the colors of the Autumn Court. Rei had chosen a variety of things in various colors that would suit her current girly-girl form.

I wasn’t really sure why I let my sister and Rei talk me into the extras, but they didn’t take up all that much space and the silk did feel nice against my skin. I was feeling much better by the time we had our clothes and armor back on with new undergarments underneath. Once we had picked out things for ourselves and Rei had marked the bags with a sharpie we started stuffing other bags with the remainder of the selection of pure silk garments for the sake of other Fae in need. I was still nervous as hell as we left the store and put the bags in the back of the truck, but physically I was feeling more comfortable.

We managed to find a little upscale boutique not long after leaving the intimates store and once Pete had smashed in the door for us the men were left outside to guard the entrance while the girls half-dragged me inside. Both Rei and Lissany had gotten some dresses in that shop to add to their somewhat limited wardrobes, but most of it was for us Fae so once again Nishalle and I dominated the shopping there. Nishalle got one lavender sundress but otherwise, all of her clothes consisted of designer jeans and tops that were made from either silk or cotton.

I wasn’t quite as fortunate as my companions foisted dress after dress upon me to try on after I made the mistake of telling them about my conversation with Nearysse earlier that morning. I did manage two pairs of designer jeans and some silk chemises, but mostly I ended up with cotton sundresses in white or various autumn shades that everyone thought looked cute and classy on me. There was also a bright crimson and gold silk dress in a Chinese style that the others insisted I had to have once they found one that fit.

Why wasn’t I fighting them so hard on these clothes and underwear? Sure, part of it was practical, I needed them and they had to be made of one hundred percent natural fibers so I really couldn’t afford to be too picky. Another thing was that I was a princess of the Autumn Court and I needed to look the part. I think mostly though, that it was because the clothes just weren’t as big a deal to me as they would have been when I had first entered the game. With my dysphoria starting to lessen and the sinking suspicion that once it was gone completely I would be just as comfortable wearing dresses or nothing at all as I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, what I bought to wear wasn’t worth fighting over. Until I was at that point I could just use my focusing exercises to make any dysphoria and discomfort take a back seat. Besides, I would only have to worry about it until we were out of the game.

It wasn’t until after we had taken a break for lunch that we found a large electronics store that Grell figured would have everything that he and Ashura wanted. I, on the other hand, was a little more concerned with what we had discovered on the way. Several streets had been impassable, filled with shattered and scorched debris from destroyed buildings. We had stopped briefly to look around and try to figure out what happened and the whole time I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. In addition to the damaged and scorched buildings, there had been the remains of what I thought might have been zombies, blackened and burned beyond identification and one of them was half missing. The upper half.

So as we looked through the electronics store for Grell’s and Ashura’s shopping list and killed the four zombies that we had found inside I was understandably disturbed and distracted. We tried to make our trip fast, getting the tools, soldering irons, wiring, circuit boards, and all manner of other things. There was enough to fill most of the remaining space of the back of the truck and Grell said it would be enough to let him and his fellow Atlantean get off to a good start. My mind was so focused on trying to figure out the source of my uneasiness that I barely even registered the game messages scrolling across my field of vision as we loaded up the truck.

“Good riddance,” Grell grumbled beside me. “Looks like we have one less thing to worry about.”

“Yeah, but let’s not relax yet, I’ve had a bad feeling since we entered the city and it hasn’t let up yet,” I told him. “Those guys might have been assholes, but they are far from the most dangerous thing in this game.”

“True enough,” Pete agreed as he placed the last bag inside and closed the tailgate.

We did manage to find a fabric store before the sun set, a large one-story brick building with security shutters on both the door and windows. Not only was I hoping that they would have all the fabric and other sewing materials that we needed, but I also thought that I might be a good place to sleep safely for the night. Nishalle was able to pick the padlock holding the door’s security shutter in place and soon we were inside leaving the truck parked near the door.

Once we had our camping gear and food supplies brought inside Nishalle locked the security shutter again and we got down to business. Since Pete and Grell had graciously decided to pull out the camp stove on the large fabric cutting table and get started on making an evening meal, the rest of us wandered through the huge store together using ghostly lights created by Rei’s Kitsune magic to see by. Before we looked at anything on our shopping list though, we did a full sweep of the store to ensure that there would be no unwelcome surprises.

There wasn’t really all that much to see other than the storefront and a back area that held a break room and a loading and storage area. The break room was pretty simple with a table, three chairs, a coffee pot, refrigerator, and microwave. The loading area had a loading door and a security door to the back. We may not have found any unwelcome surprises, but we did find a pair of welcome ones in the form of keys hanging from a hook by the door. One set seemed to belong to a small delivery truck in the back that boasted the store’s name on the side and the other set was for a crotch rocket leaning up against the rear outer wall of the store.

We didn’t dally outside long enough to do more than take a cursory glance at the vehicles. Whatever it was that was bothering me seemed to be even worse now that the sun had set. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as I looked around carefully one last time, went back inside, and made sure that both of the rear doors were securely shut and locked. It probably wouldn’t do much good against anything truly fearsome, but for the moment it at least made me feel a tiny bit more secure.

We ate our meal together in silence as if merely speaking, no matter how quietly, would bring whatever evil it was that we feared to our temporary doorstep. It was fairly basic fare; some grilled cheese sandwiches, soda, and some pepperoni sticks. Not exactly a five-star meal, but at least it filled the voids in our stomachs and gave us something to do besides trying as hard as we could to not look outside. Venika was the first to speak, her tiny voice uncertain. “What the hell is it that has us all on edge?”

“There’s something out there, something terrifying, I could feel its eyes on us as we looked over those damaged buildings. Whatever it is, I don’t want to be around if it decides that we might be tasty,” Nishalle replied with a shudder.

“I felt it too,” I agreed. “I think it was watching us from a distance because if it were closer one of us would have smelled or heard something out of place.”

“I smelled something, but it was very faint like it was there but left quite a while ago,” Lissany put in, her feline ears lowered in anxiety. “I didn’t recognize the scent though, whatever it was.”

I tried to appear calmer than I felt as I told my friends, “Let’s try not to worry about it and focus on the job at hand. We’ll pile up all the spools of thread, bolts of cloth, buttons, needles and anything else that we can use in the loading area tonight and then first thing in the morning we load it into that delivery van and make tracks straight to the Walmart and Costco to get everything else. I don’t want to be in this city any longer than we have to.”

With that in mind, we got to work. The store had a lot of synthetics and blends, but much to my relief they also had a decent selection of cloth made from only natural fibers; silks, satins, flannels, tartans, velvets, and wool blends all in a variety of patterns and colors. We took all of it to the loading area followed by boxes that we filled with anything else that we thought that the Brownies at the manor or Laesa could possibly use to make clothes.

It felt like it was near midnight by the time we had finished and curled up in our sleeping bags on the floor to try and get some sleep. Well, not all of us were in sleeping bags since they were made with synthetic fibers and Nishalle, Venika, and I couldn’t touch them. We used the wool camp blankets instead and while it wasn’t terribly comfortable we made it work. We all kept making comments about how uncomfortable the sleeping conditions were after being used to a nice bed. I think we were all trying to make an excuse for why we really couldn’t sleep, but not one of us believed it.