I’m losing my mind.

We didn’t return to the same village. We were in a different world.

The Hone that I’d grown up with and had known all my life was gone. No longer were the familiar dirty streets between the weathered old buildings. The town had been swallowed whole by what could only be described as a tropical rainforest.

Dazed and lost, my head spinning in confusion, I stumbled towards the edge of the vibrant jungle. The silhouette of a building which looked like Garn’s General Store was vague visible through the dense foliage, drawing me to it. As Red and I stumbled closer, a high pitched feminine squeal for “HEEEELLLPPPP!!” rose high in the air.

A young lady, looking to be in her mid-teens, wearing a long, pure-white dress, rushed out of the forest screaming multiple times for help, as she ran directly for us. Completely bewildered, I drew my hatchet, expecting the worst, as she skidded to a stop and grabbed my wrist.

“What’s wrong? Where are you hurt? We’ll fix it!” The words rushed one after another out of her mouth as I found myself suddenly being dragged along towards the jungle. Several other girls excitedly rushed to join the first, their overlapping chatter becoming impossible to decipher. Glancing back at Red, she was just as surrounded and tugged upon as I was.

“Granny Jean! Granny Jean!” Yelling a name I definitely recognized, one of the girls rushed ahead, only to return moments later while tugging on the hands of another young girl of about the same age. “They look bad Granny,” the dragger told the draggee. “How are we going to fix them?”

Forming themselves in a circle around me and Red, the dozen or so young girls sat down expectantly and constantly changed their stares between me, Red, and the new girl.

“I see you’re back, boy.” Closing the gap between us, the brown haired young lady wrapped me tightly in a hug, as if she knew me. “It seems as if you both have been through a lot, but don’t worry; we’ll have you patched up and better in no time.”

“Who are you,” I whispered? A nagging feeling in my gut told me I knew this girl. Her body was one I’d never seen before, but her eyes echoed with familiarity in my mind.

“That’s Granny Jean,” one of the sitting girls answered instantly. “Everyone knows her.”

“Granny Jean?” My knees went weak and I stumbled to the ground, my brain unable to understand any more. Surrounded by several squeals of worry, almost instantly I was swarmed by young girls. The white glow of magic was heavy in the air and pure, warm electricity flooded my body. Blissful sleep engulfed me in seconds, erasing all my worries from the world.

I awoke a new man, with the strongest case of morning wood that I’ve ever experienced in either of my lives. Glancing around, I was grateful to find myself back in the familiar old room Granny used to treat her patients. Red lay sleeping in the second bed, and the young woman – Granny?? – was standing patiently beside mine, waiting for me to acknowledge her.

“I’d be careful using that for a while.” Pointing to the high rise of the covers at my midsection, Granny cackled merrily. Young or old, there was no doubt in my mind that she was Granny Jean anymore. I’d know the warmth of her laughter anywhere.

“The young ‘uns are excitable,” Granny smirked. “They fixed ya, but they flooded you with Life’s energy. Unless you’re looking for a child soon, I’d advise avoiding any father hole with that thing for the next few weeks.”

Holding the palm of my hand out upright, I solemnly pledged, “No children for me, I promise.”

“You did good, boy.” Reaching down, Granny ruffled my hair and gently patted my cheek.

“No, I didn’t.” I hung my head in utter shame. “We haven’t found the heart yet. I failed.” Tears of frustration leaked down my cheeks as I wrapped the blanket in my hands in a death grip.

“Failed?” Granny cackled merrily, while placing her hand on my forehead to check my temperature. “You didn’t fail, boy. You brought back a whole globe of it, stuffed in the globe of your lantern.”

Globe? Lantern? My mind struggled to understand. Confused, I asked, “The slimy moss?”l

“Widow’s Heart,” Granny confirmed, nodding her head. “I’ve already treated the girl,” she informed me, kindness heavy in her voice and eyes. “She’ll be awake soon.”

“Thank you.” After all we’d been through, the words felt inadequate, but they made a smile spread happily across Granny’s young face.

“You should sleep now,” she recommended.

“Wait!” I shook my head side to side, vehemently in denial. “I need to know first,” I pleaded. “Is Red going to be okay? What happened to you? To town? Who are those girls?” A thousand worried questions filled my brain, and I didn’t know which to start asking first.

“Red’ll be fine. She’s just resting,” Granny assured me. “As for the rest…” Trailing off, she shrugged her shoulders slightly. “It’s not a big deal. A bad man come into town and volunteered to help me teach some youngsters, so we did some minor redecorations to celebrate.”

“Now sleep.” As Granny’s hands emitted a pale white light, deep peaceful slumber washed over me like a tsunami.

Waking drenched in sweat, the feel of hot, soft flesh engulfed me. Opening my shocked eyes, Red’s beautiful face was resting on the right side of my chest, with her body pressed tightly half atop of mine; while Jewel’s gorgeous head was snuggled across the left side of my chest, her body wrapped around the other half of mine. The girls were leaned in close, whispering softly away to each other, while the heat of their naked bodies cooked mine.

“Uhhhmm..” Coughing slightly, I wrapped my arms around both, gently feeling up and down their bare backs. Much to my surprise, neither pulled away. Instead, both giggled conspiratorially, with Red killing up my chest until she reached my lips, and Jewel kissing down the other direction until she engulfed my still enlarged midsection. Neither stopped upon reaching their goal, and I was engulfed in ecstasy; love and lust consuming my brain as I lost myself in the moment.

After exploding my passion multiple times, Jewel slowly kissed her way back up my chest, while Red, as if reading some unspoken cue, worked herself downwards. Leaning with her breasts pressed warmly against my full chest, Jewel stretched up on her elbows and gently, passionately, kissed me once. “Thank you,” she whispered, gazing deep into my eyes, “for saving me twice.”

“Uhhh Huuuuh…” It wasn’t a very manly response, but it was the best I could manage with Red doing what she was beneath the sheets.

“Healer’s orders,” Jewel giggled slightly, resting her head down across my shoulder. “The Grand Lady Healer here explained to us that you’d been overfilled with life. According to her, you’ll need to purge as much of that excess life energy as possible daily, until your spirit stabilizes. Also,” Jewel giggled again, slightly kissing my chest while hiding her face, “she says the expelled energy can help stabilize my own, as long as I’m willing to consume it.”

“Uhhhh Huuuhh.” Trying to focus my thoughts on what Jewel was saying, I thought I could understand the concept somewhat. According to what I remembered reading in my time as Thomas, some people believed in the concept of yin and yang. Apparently, Granny thought my overflowing yang could help calm Jewel’s rampaging yin, allowing us both to find balance.

“Uuugghh.” With one last explosion from my hips, Red slowly pulled her head back and rested it on my hips. The warm breath from her lips gently washed over my still bulging member, while Jewel giggled softly and kissed my chest several more times.

“Maybe now,” Jewel giggled, “you can actually respond, and we can have a serious conversation.”

“I’ll do my best,” I promised, gently caressing my hands over both girls.

“First, let me thank you again for saving me and Red.” Jewel leaned up and gently kissed my lips to accentuate her gratitude. “Though I now understand it was a misunderstanding, and that you’re not a bandit as I’d imagined, it still doesn’t change the fact that I pledged myself to you.

“I am still yours,” Jewel insisted, leaning up to stare direct into my soul with her sky blue eyes. “My wealth. My clothes. My body. My magic. My heart. I submit all, willingly and freely, to you, my lord. Even my soul itself, now belongs to you, on the eternal honor of my name and my bloodline.”

“Umm… Clothes?” Somehow, I was picturing a naked Jewel running around for the rest of her life, having sworn nudity for my sake or something.

“Dress me as you wish,” Jewel giggled. “Or undress me as you wish. As a doll does not care how a child covers it, neither shall I object to any of your wishes, whimsies, or desires.”

“So what type of clothes do you like?” Thinking about it, I’ve never seen Jewel with a single stitch of clothing on, since the moment we met. All I’ve ever seen on her is jewelry and blankets. And her pale bare skin.

“Any that pleases you,” was Jewel’s answer as she stared at me. Damn, those eyes draw you in deep!

“And what pleases you,” I tried again?

“Pleasing you.” Jewel giggled. Apparently, she was having fun and had no intention of making things easy for me.

“Fine,” I snorted. “We’ll get you a nice loose little black mini-skirt for you to wear that’ll barely cover your ass, a black shawl to hang barely over your breasts with some white lace trim, and a pair of extreme high heels to lace up to your knees.” I could imagine it in my head, but I’ve been a married man in the past. I know when push comes to shove, I’ll just get the you’re an idiot look, and she’ll end up choosing something sensible that she wanted to wear anyway.

“Sounds adventurous,” Jewel giggled, completely unconcerned about my wild fantasies. “The real question though, my lord,” Jewel said seriously, “is what you wish for us to do now. I was attending the academy, learning magic. Would you like me to continue that, or…” She left the statement hanging open, as a question.

“Of course, you should continue your education.” I didn’t even need to think on that question. Honestly, I wanted to disrupt the girl’s normal lives as little as possible. “I don’t know when your semesters begin, but both of you should return and learn as much as possible. The more you grow in your youth,” I channeled my old man Thomas, “the more that growth pays off for the rest of your lives.”

“We’ve already missed the start of this semester,” Jewel informed me. “I’d have to do some calculations, but the academy has classes which last three first cycles, with one full first cycle off afterwards. I doubt they’d allow us to attend this semester now, except perhaps to take independent study.”

“Independent study,” I asked?

“Even if it’s too late to take an official class, you can always pay the student fee and use the library and such for independent research.”

“And how much is the student fee?” I’d always assumed schools would be expensive in this world, and exclusively for the rich. I’d certainly never heard of anyone in town going to attend one.

“The base cost is ten gold a month, at Applicant Rank,” Jewel answered. “That’s just for registration, a common room with three others, and meals. Classes vary in cost, with most being two to five gold per month, and you’re not allowed to take over five. Semi-private rooms are an additional ten gold a month, and private rooms are twenty-five. Special rooms such as task rooms, family rooms, or private suites cost separate.”

Doing some quick math in my head, it seemed like the cost was from twelve to thirty-seven gold per month for classes, with higher costs for more amenities. Since an average wage was around a gold a day for a person, it seems I was right in my initial assessment. Education was for the rich.

“I can’t read or write,” I explained, “so there’s not much point in me attending independent study.”

“Then Red and I will take this semester off and stay here with you,” Jewel declared. “After all,” she giggled and lightly kissed my chest again, “I need your essence to heal properly anyway. We’ll just plan on attending next semester all together, and Red and I can teach you to read by then.”

I’ve been married. I’ve had a daughter. I knew the look on her face, so I just nodded feebly in agreement. “If you say so dear, then that’s just what we’ll do.”

Echoes of Julie’s laughter haunted the back of my memories.