Beginnings
By Kristina Ten, first published in Fantasy
When confronted by the king, the lives of two girls forever change.
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Plot Summary
Before they are horribly transformed by the king, two girls are still best friends on the outskirts of town. They work at a dessert shop close to their apartment. Meanwhile, the prince just wants to land a fakie heelflip on his skateboard, though he’s afraid of his father—the king—so he does as he asks. After the prince’s gap year, the king wants his son to either go to college or start a family. On behalf of the prince, the king wants to have a barbecue.
The prince invites the two girls to his barbecue, and they struggle to remember who he is. The first girl wants to go to X-ray technician school, and the second girl wants to follow her where she goes. They hope to have a studio apartment where it’ll feel like they’re having sleepovers every night. The girls end up not going to the barbecue, which makes the prince a little sad. Other people do come, however, to enjoy the king’s food and the prince’s skateboard tricks. Meanwhile, his mother stays up in a turret and does accounting work.
The first girl wants to be an X-ray technician to help others. One night, as they’re watching television, the second girl jokingly says that she can practice on her, though she quickly blushes after the first girl stares at her. The second girl wants to protect the first girl at all costs. Meanwhile, the prince tells the king that the two girls are absolutely inseparable and informs him all about their friendship.
The king goes to the dessert shop one day, intending to tell off the two girls for blowing off the prince’s barbecue. In the parking lot, the second girl tries to attack the king right before the first girl even comes outside. However, because of the king, the second girl turns into a swarm of horseflies, and the first girl turns into a swarm of bees. In their horrific transformations, they no longer recognize each other.
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