Chapter 7 – Stolen Princess
George hurried out of the old locker room, back through the hallway, and into the gymnasium. Upon noticing the time on the wall clock, he realized he must have missed the bell and was now late for his art class. So, he began walking in that direction.
“Are you okay, Master?” she asked.
Genie’s words were soothing but careful as if she feared he’d fall into another episode if she said the wrong thing. George felt guilty for making her feel like she needed to be ready for his seemingly inevitable breakdown. “I’m alright,” he said as stoically as he could. “Anyway… what’s the story with Lacy? Is he her pimp or something?”
“Sorta. They have an arrangement, you see. She gets a full scholarship to her dream school, and she… relieves the team’s tension. And she’s not the first girl your coach has used like this.”
“Oh my god… Is Veiss blackmailing her, too?”
“Um… it’s complicated?”
“What does that mean? Is he or isn’t he?”
“It’s not that simple, Master,” she sighed. “How do I explain… She’s a very sexual person, and she really loves getting dirty. And she likes bossing around big, strong bulls who treat her like a queen. It satisfies a deep primal need, and if she wasn’t getting it from the football team, she’d be getting it somewhere else. But if you asked her if she’d prefer getting into college this way, the answer would be no. She doesn’t want a bad reputation. She doesn’t enjoy being called a whore or a slut behind her back. And she feels really guilty for having sex with Farah’s boyfriend and her father, but… “
“Wait, wait, wait… what’s Farah have to do with this?”
“Promise you won’t freak out?” she asked sheepishly.
The mere question was enough to raise the hair on his neck. But he told himself this was the new brave George, not the mopey, timid George. “It’s okay, Genie.”
“Coach Veiss is Farah’s father. Stepfather, technically, but yeah.”
The cold dread he’d been struggling against chilled him to his core. Of all the fathers in all the world, why did he have to be hers? And why didn’t he know that? How had he missed that detail in all the years he’d studied her? Was he so consumed by pain and grief that he didn’t notice, or did he somehow choose not to acknowledge it?
The familiar negative spirals began to take shape, threatening to drag his mood down until he was drowning in self-loathing again. But he recognized that it was happening this time and was able to stop it. Instead, he chose to focus on other, more pressing issues at hand.
“Well… that’s a thing, I guess,” he sighed. “So, he and Lacy are…”
“I could tell you, but… Master, are you sure you want to know? This might be something you felt was too personal before.”
George, once again, felt the sharp sting of reality. He didn’t know what Lacy’s situation was, and as far as tormentors go, she’d been one of the worst. Still, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. And now, George was trapped in that same web, forced to perform for a puppet master who’d do anything to accomplish his goals. A man who would use anyone and discard them the moment they weren’t valuable. In a way, the entire team was his whores, and George was right there with them.
“Well, I guess I’m not the only one who’s gone through some shit,” he said. “You’re right, don’t tell me, and thanks for the warning.”
“No problem,” she said solemnly.
George was bummed that his typically effervescent companion now seemed so down. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’m just feeling a bit useless… and stupid.”
“Aww, why would you say that?”
She huffed indignantly and said, “It’s just… I have all this power, literally an entire universe full, yet it never occurred to me that bringing all that attention to you would have so many negative consequences. If I’d known it would have gotten you into this much trouble, I wouldn’t have posted that video.”
That might have been the most prudent thing she’d said since her arrival. And also very unlike her. “Hey, that doesn’t sound like the unflappable cosmic being we’ve all grown to know and love. Besides, how could you know my football coach is a freaking wizard.”
“Yeah… you’re right. Do you know what I should do? I should go into your spank bank and look for something spicy. That always cheers me up.”
“W-Wait…”
The Genie gasped, “Oh my! Help me, step-bro, I’m stuck in the washing machine again! Oh no! You can see my panties!”
George groaned while she was cracking up. “And to think,” he said, “I was gonna offer you a piggyback ride. Too bad.”
Suddenly, she materialized behind him and jumped on his back. “My leg hurts, step-bro! Will you carry me to my bed?”
George finally arrived at his senior art class and set up at his usual table, the invisible Genie now riding piggyback. But as he got out his tablet, a girl from across the room bounded over to him. It was Piper’s colorful goth friend.
“George, I need to talk to you,” she said frantically.
George took a quick breath to prepare himself and replied, “Okay, what’s up?”
The girl looked frazzled and worried. “Did Piper ever catch up with you yesterday? She told me she was going to walk you home.”
George thought back to yesterday when that nerdy redhead tried to stand between him and his attic sanctuary. Piper’s last words to him wrang through his mind. “I don’t care anymore!” she screamed in the rain. Things had changed so much since then; it might as well have been another life. It’d been such a hectic day that he’d almost forgotten about her.
“Yeah, she walked with me for a while. I was hoping I’d see her today.”
“Yeah, well, her mom called and told me she didn’t come home last night, and she didn’t show up at school this morning, either. So I was hoping you knew where she went. Her mom is, like, freaking out.”
His stomach dropped as a horrible idea came to mind. Once again, he remembered two guys talking about a maiden in the bathroom.
It couldn’t be.
The colorfully dressed girl fiddled with the end of the blue streak in her hair while she interrogated him. “Did she say anything to you, like, where she was going? People have been looking for her all day, but the police keep dragging their feet. Christ, I’m so worried. If something happened to her, I’d just die!”
“Master, remember those boys from earlier in the bathroom? They mentioned something about needing a maiden for something.”
“And Piper was one of the girls on their board. A princess. What the heck does that mean?”
The young woman was getting annoyed. “Hey! Earth to George? Are you listening?”
“Y-Yeah, sorry. What was your name?”
Her face dropped into a scowl. “It’s Elizabeth. Ya know, Lizzie? We’ve been in the same art classes for, like, five years, dude.”
“Right, Lizzie… sorry. I was just trying to think back to yesterday. Where were we…” George reviewed his last encounter with Piper to the best of his recollection. He remembered the shortness of breath, the weakness, the extreme fits of pain, but their conversation had taken a back seat. He remembered how she tried to help him, but he didn’t believe her then. The way she spoke to him, her gentle touch, and especially the look in her gorgeous eyes seemed too good to be true. Knowing that the curse had distorted his perception seemed to make everything worse in hindsight. But now, George saw her for what she truly was, a beautiful heroine who’d come to rescue him. If only he had let her.
Eventually, he found his memory and explained, “We broke off on Carpenter Street, just before Mason Way. It was raining, I was pretty sick, we fought a little, and I told her to go home. I don’t remember if she said she was going anywhere else.”
“Fuck,” Lizzie muttered to herself in disappointment. But then, she said, “Wait. You were fighting? If you hurt her, I swear to God…”
George put his hands up defensively. “No! Not like that! I… I was in a bad place, and she was trying to help me, but… I don’t know. I guess I was kind of an asshole? But she was okay when I last saw her; she was just really upset. I promise.”
Lizzie crossed her arms and huffed, “God, that’s so typical. No offense, George, but I never understood why she wasted so much time on you. I can’t even count the number of times she’s called me crying over your bullshit.”
That couldn’t be right, he thought. Piper always kept her distance from him, like most people. “What are you talking about? I barely know her.”
She glared at him, her eyes getting misty from the emotions about to be released. “How can you say that after all she’s done for you? Always dragging your ass to the nurse’s office or cleaning you up in the bathroom. Everyone makes fun of her for it, but she does it anyway.”
George searched his memories for confirmation of what Lizzie told him, but he could only remember vague feelings. Had Lizzie been thinking of the right George? Or…
“It’s the curse,” said the Genie. The two realized the truth at the same time. “Of course. It’s been scrambling your brain and stealing your tender moments with her. But how can that still be the case?” she asked herself.
George was getting a headache as he pried deeper and deeper into the last few years, trying to remember anything involving Piper. But there was nothing. Even now, he was having trouble remembering what she looked like.
Lizzie continued. “I get that you’ve got some shitty illness or whatever, but did you have to take it out on her? Fuck, my own mother doesn’t care about me as much. And now, she might be in trouble o-or….” The stress of the situation was finally getting to her as a multitude of uncomfortable possibilities ran through her mind, making her tears start to fall.
Everything was happening so fast, but seeing Lizzie cry like that hit so close to home; he couldn’t help but understand what she was going through. So, without thinking, George stood and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her gently as she wept. He noticed a few people were looking at them, which made him feel exposed, but he needed to do it for himself, if not for her. She was a curvy girl but a touch shorter than the Genie, and holding her made George feel like a giant. Lizzie didn’t protest and pressed her face against his bicep, tears seeping into his hoodie.
“I dunno what to do,” she mewled. Finally, Lizzie stopped talking and surrendered to her negative feelings, devolving into a pitiful sobbing mess.
George did his best to project an air of stability and confidence, but he was just as worried about Piper as Lizzie was. Having never been in a situation like this, George was unsure how best to console her. But he felt compelled to say something. As he rubbed her back, he wondered, what did he need to hear right now? What would the Genie say? What would his father say?
“Hey, c’mon. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he said softly. “For now, we have to believe that she’ll be okay. We can’t help her if we give up.”
His words seemed to reach her, and she regained some composure. “I know. And I’m sorry, okay, for what I said. I’m just… I’m terrified. She’s never done anything like this, and I was hoping you knew something, but…”
But he did know something. It couldn’t be a coincidence that those football players talked about a kidnapping while Piper was missing. The events had to be linked. And, as luck would have it, he had an appointment with someone who could tell him more. That is if she wasn’t still angry with him over the chili incident.
“Hey, Lizzie, would you give me your number?” he asked.
“Wha… why?” she asked incredulously. “George, this isn’t the time to ask me out.”
“No, not that! I have a few ideas. And there’s someone I want to speak to about this.”
Agitated, she pulled away from him. “You know something! What are you not telling me?” she asked as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. By then, her thick mascara had run down her cheeks in long black lines.
“It’s… it’s not something I can talk about. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you anyway. And I don’t know if it will pan out, but…” he had to stop himself from blabbering on since he knew he sounded crazy. “Look, stay on the police and keep me updated. I can’t make any promises. But give me some time, and if I learn something, I’ll let you know right away.”
She eyed him suspiciously at first, but after some thought, Lizzie shrugged while digging her phone out of her back pocket. “George, I want you to know that you’re acting sussy as fuck. But if you think you can help, then fine,” she said as she unlocked the screen. Then, after fiddling with some buttons, she looked up at him expectantly. “Well? Get out your phone, dude.”
George hadn’t planned on her agreeing and had to search his pockets until he found the one holding his phone. Once they were finished exchanging contact info, Lizzie said, “Please, just promise me that you’ll tell me as soon as you have something.”
“I promise. And let me know if she suddenly turns up.”
“I will.” With that, Lizzie left him and returned to her table on the other side of the room.
“Master, this is so weird,” said the Genie. “I don’t get how the curse can do this. I’ve got it completely under my control, but something is still preventing me from finding Piper.” She muttered unintelligibly to herself for a bit before asking, “Master, I want to test something. Can you wish for something sexy about Piper? For science?”
“Something sexy, hmm….” He thought for a moment to devise something lewd enough to work as a wish but wholesome enough that he wouldn’t feel icky making it. “I wish… that Piper would walk into class and… give me a hug.”
Nothing happened. “A little too chaste, Master. We need to turn up the heat.”
He rolled his eyes. He was so inexperienced that If he’d made that wish on a previous day, it would have been considered pornographic by comparison. “Alright, fine. I wish she would walk into class and give me a spank on my bare bottom.”
George felt the corresponding tingle down his spine, signifying that a wish was in the works, but Piper never appeared.
“What the fuck,” she muttered. “Again, please. Maybe kick it up a notch?”
He started getting really worried and stopped dancing around his prime directive. “I wish Piper would walk in here, strip down naked, and finger herself on this table.”
He felt the tingle again, and still nothing happened.
“This can’t be…”
“Genie, what is it? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t find her! I’m looking everywhere, but it’s like… it’s like she doesn’t exist, or… oh no…”
George wracked his brain, troubleshooting like he was fixing his computer. “Are you sure it’s just Piper? Maybe your wishers are broken?”
“My wishers? Perhaps… Wish for something else. Something not about her.”
George went with the first thing that came to his mind. “I wish Lizzie would come back over and kiss me on the cheek.”
Another tingle. The Genie said, “Incoming.”
Suddenly, Lizzie threw her arms around his neck and gave him an exaggerated peck right where he wished. Then she leaned on his shoulder and gushed, “Thank you! I was afraid you wouldn’t care.”
George held her hand, which was draped around him. He knew her sudden outburst was manufactured by his companion, but it made him feel good anyway. “You’re welcome. And I’m really embarrassed that I forgot your name. I’m sorry.”
Lizzie laughed and loosened her grip. “You’ll just have to make it up to me then,” she said.
George blushed. “You can count on it,” he said as confidently as he could.
“Okay, good,” she said as she backed away. George could clearly see that she was blushing as well. She pulled a strand of blue hair hanging in her face behind her ear and said, “Well, uh… I’ll talk to you later.”
“Y-Yeah, for sure,” he stammered.
She shuffled nervously. “Um… K, bye,” she said and hurried back to her seat.
“Seems like my wishers are working just fine,” she said proudly.
George gazed longingly in Elizabeth’s direction. “I’ll say.” But then, he shook those thoughts from his mind and said, “Too bad that wasn’t real.”
“What do you mean? Of course it was,” she whined.
“But I had to wish for it. She wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t make her.”
“Don’t be such a pooper. It was just a friendly kiss. We didn’t turn her into a fuck slave or anything.”
“Slippery slope,” he said. “Anyway, you’re wishers work, so what’s going on with Piper?”
“Ugh, it’s so frustrating. How do I explain? Um… Imagine living in a world where everyone except you is friends with this super cool girl. Everyone is talking about her, all the great things she’s done, and all the good times they’ve had.”
“Not much of a stretch, but okay.”
“Okay, imagine you can’t see, hear, or feel her, and when people talk to her, it’s like they are talking to themselves. As far as you can tell, this person does not exist.”
“That would be weird, yeah.”
“Right! It’s like, what am I missing? Is everyone just trolling me? Am I nuts?”
George could tell she was getting more upset and tried not to feed into it. “So you think it’s the curse, then? Are you worried it’s getting past you?”
“It’s not. At least, I don’t think it is. But I’m learning more about how the curse works. What it did to you.”
“That’s good news then,” he said, full of hope. But she didn’t respond. “Right?” he asked, less hopeful this time.
Her response was less confirmation and more of what a question mark might sound like. “Ehhh…”
“Well, that’s encouraging,” he huffed.
“I’m sorry. There’s still a lot I don’t get. I know it damaged your brain from all the little bits scooped out, and I assumed it was random. Like, that would be bad enough, right? But what if it wasn’t? What if it was trying to keep specific things hidden from you?”
The more she talked about the curse, the more it seemed like a being with intentions. Like George was possessed by some kind of evil entity. “Okay… but why Piper? Is it because she was trying to help me?”
“Maybe. Maybe it couldn’t affect Piper like everyone else for some reason. So instead, it just destroyed anything in your head related to her.” She huffed once more in frustration. “But that still doesn’t explain why I can’t see her.”
“What if it’s not the curse, then? I’m just throwing ideas out there, but what if something else is happening? The Coach uses magic in some capacity. He may be blocking you. Hell, you’ve only been around less than a day. There could be all kinds of stuff you’re unaware of.”
The Genie stayed quiet for a bit, which unnerved him further.
“You okay?” he asked.
“No,” she said, her voice shaky. “This is worse than I thought.”
“What do you mean? Genie, talk to me.”
She left her place inside his head and took her solid form on the stool beside him. Her lovely eyes glistened just like the night before when she feared she would lose him. “I think you’re right. There’s other magic out there, and I can’t overcome it because I’m weakened by the curse.” Her voice trembled. “Master, this is really bad.”
George was following along for once. “I’m vulnerable, aren’t I?”
“Yeah… and I don’t know how, exactly. You should be safe from mundane things like a knife or an explosion. But who knows? What if it’s some kind of enchanted… explodey knife?” She flailed her arms around to mimic a small blast. “Could I protect you from that?”
“Is that a thing?” he asked wide-eyed.
“I don’t know! Maybe! It’s freaking magic!”
“Hey, hey! Let’s stay calm,” said George, suddenly mindful of his classmates nearby. “We need to figure out what to do about Piper.”
“I know, Master. I’m sorry,” she said as her face contorted to keep herself from crying. “First, that colossal douchebag gets his hooks into you because I couldn’t hide my powers properly. Then he almost slips a spell past me, which, by the way, should be impossible. And then, the one person in the world who saw through the curse has been in danger this whole time, and I didn’t know. I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
Her eyes went wide with panic as a notion hit her. “Master, what if I can’t find her because she’s already gone?”
George held her hands gently. He’d considered that possibility, and hearing her say it aloud was gut-wrenching. But he dismissed the idea almost immediately. Now wasn’t the time to succumb to the worst possible scenario. “Genie, please don’t talk that way,” he pleaded. “We need to stay focused, and I need your help. What happened to that badass bitch who humbled an entire football team to the tune of The Touch?”
She couldn’t help but give a weak smile, but then she looked away as a deep shame took hold. “Master, I… I fucked up… I’m your Genie. I’m not supposed to fuck up; I’m supposed to make your life better. I was created to fill your day with pleasure and bliss. If I can’t even do that, what good am I?”
“What good are you? Genie, you’re not just… my Genie.” He made a mental note to give her a proper name soon. “You’re a person. You’re my friend. And you didn’t just save my life. You’re the one making me want to live at all.”
“Really?” she sniffled.
“Really. And all this crap, the bullying, the shitty grades, the loneliness, is all because I gave up on life. Sure, the curse did its job, but I had these problems long before you showed up. You’re the only one keeping me together right now. Without you, I’m nothing.”
Finally, she looked up at him, her face filled with determination. “You’re not nothing. You’re my Master. You’re handsome and sweet, and I wouldn’t even exist without you.”
He squeezed her hands tightly. “Then I need you, and you need me. Right?”
Her smile broke through and lit up the room. “You need me?”
“That’s right,” he said, smiling back. “And when you think about it, you should feel proud.”
“Proud?” she asked bashfully. “Not that I need any more reasons, but why is that?”
He flashed her a dashing smirk. “Because thanks to you, Mr. Veiss’s reign of terror is coming to an end.”
Her eyes went wide. “Master? Are you saying…”
“All this pain and misery for what? To win a stupid fucking game? Well, he’s just created his last victim. I won’t let a scumbag like him get away with this anymore. Someone has to do something, and that someone is us.”
“Fuck Yeah, Master!” she beamed. Then she teleported into his arms with a puff of pink smoke and began assaulting him with a barrage of small kisses. “I love it, I love it, I love it!” she gushed. “So what’s the plan?”
“First, we’ve got to find Piper. I still don’t know what Veiss wants with her, but whatever. We focus on finding her first. And since we can’t do it the magic way, we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.”
After a few moments, Genie shrugged and said, “Why bother with all that work? I’ll get out the ole penis flattener, and we’ll have Coach Pancake sorted by sundown.”
“Genie, good god! What is it with you and genital torture? Sheesh.”
She pouted. “So… no penis flattener?”
“No! No penis flattener! Besides, we don’t know how dangerous he really is. If we go in hard like that, we could do more harm than good.”
She rolled her eyes and said, “Fine… what’s the old-fashioned way?”
“Well, we can’t rely on the police. If Chief Sanders is a friend of Coach Veiss, then that’s just a dead end. Besides, Piper’s mom probably has that covered. Also, we don’t know anyone who can help with this magic stuff either. So I only see one option.”
“Sexy time with Lacy!” sang the Genie while rolling her hips in George’s lap.
Seeing his companion return to her perky self was immensely gratifying. However, he needed to stay focused on Piper. He couldn’t get distracted by how nice Genie’s boobs felt squashed against him or how firm her plump ass was in his hands. He’d never been involved in something so important, and the weight of so much responsibility all at once was overwhelming. Moreover, the statistics he’d read said the likelihood of finding a missing person worsened every moment. But Piper’s life was potentially at stake. And if what Lizzie had said was true, then George owed her much more than he knew. The Genie may have given him a second chance, but it was up to him to deserve it.
