No. A few days pass.

The manor has been quiet for a while now. Sure, there's still excitement here and there, but there aren't knights, inquisitors and a devious noblewoman walking your halls. It's been a great time to relax with your wives and watch over them as they help to educate your catgirls on how to behave. The chance to see people up close at a banquet has suddenly driven many catgirls to focus on manners and proper behavior - at least in short bursts. As you would expect from catgirls, sometimes after a long practice session one or more will strip naked and bound up and down the halls or run around outside to burn off their energy.

You've also earned the undying love of most of your chestnut furred catgirls. All the ones who had coarse fur now have the silky fur and a little tuft over their breasts. Every one of them has spent days marching around, head held high and just brimming with happiness. Most catgirls are thankful for you saving them, but fixing their uncomfortable fur causes you to get jumped in the hallways for surprise hugs. They're almost as excited with everyone else - your wives, other catgirls and even a surprised messenger have all been the 'victim' of spontaneous catgirl affection from your tufted kittens. As a result you've had three messengers turn up on their time off, just to see if lightning strikes twice.

In fact, that tuft was so popular that silky chestnut furred girls without the tuft asked if it was possible that all chestnut furred catfolk were supposed to have it. The three catgirls who ambushed you with that question were so eager, so **** for it to be true, that you quickly did the mental math and agreed to check them over and 'see'. When you told them it was indeed supposed to be that way they raced around the mansion, hugging and whispering to catgirls left and right to share the news. It burned a lot of magic, seeing to the rest of the chestnut furred girls, but the smiles and joy were worth it. Maybe you wouldn't have done it if most of the girls who lucked out with silky, soft chestnut fur had been mean to their coarse furred fellows. But almost all of them were helpful and tried to keep the spirits of the coarse furred girls high.

That meant you added the tuft to the newly arrived catfolk family as well. The tuft is apparently linked to puberty, so it hasn't yet made an appearance on little Misha or Xallenne. You imagine that when they get older and it comes in they'll probably both start strutting around like they own the place. For Misha it will likely make it look like he's always puffing out his chest.

Though changing all the chestnut furred catgirl as well as any chestnut furred babies, born and unborn, did burn a good amount of your magic it didn't flatten you as it once might have. You're in the process of transforming one of the mercenaries as you reflect on that fact. Truly, this constant experimentation with life magic, these extensive spells and subtle tweaks to the bodies of the catgirls has expanded what you can achieve. A year ago this much work would have left you near comatose, now it's mildly taxing and doesn't interfere with your day nor with the time you spend with your wives.

Sandra takes some measurements and gives the newly transformed mercenary's body some gropes and squeezes. "Mmmm, nice. Too bad she got so much shorter, but 5'7" is still pretty good. Especially with those muscles. Does she count as a shadow stalker?"

"I suppose. Most of them just have gray fur, hers is black fringed gray, so why not?"

"Yeah, it definitely looks nice. I wish it were more common. But what I actually meant was that shadow stalkers are supposed to be tall, quiet and shy, right?"

"She's still pretty tall. As for quiet and shy... have you head that 'the exception makes the rule'"?

Sandra laughs. "Well I doubt we're going to have trouble finding her a boyfriend. You could bump her bosom up from a small A cup to make sure."

"If I listened to you every catgirl would be a hefty B or even a C cup. Some men do like them smaller, you know?"

"Yeeeaaahhh, but especially with that rare fur pattern I really want to make sure she's bred and bred well. Hey, wouldn't it be lovely if she was very sensitive? The kind of hottie who just gets hooked on sex once she tries it?"

It's your turn to laugh at that. Though you barely notice it there's a fleeting magical gust of energy. You try to track it but it just seems to slip through your fingers. Maybe you'll look into that later. "Sandra, Sandra," you give her a hug. "You want to make another catgirl into a special project?"

"You always make me the nicest presents."

"<Sigh>. Okay. But I'll only be able to do one more today after all this. I was hoping for three just to mix things up a little." As you say this you plant a hand on the new catgirl's forehead and extend your senses. Soon enough she's sporting a set of middle B cup breasts, her torso has taken on a near perfect hourglass shape, her tail has gone from thin to thick so that it shows off that sexy fur and her ears, neck, shoulders, breasts, belly, tail, feet, thighs and of course her vagina are all more sensitive than those of most girls.

The catgirl's amber eyes open a little and her tongue licks at her lips. When Sandra runs her fingers over the girl's belly a low, sexy purr is heard throughout the room. The end of the thickened tail twitches like a python. "Nice," says Sandra.

"Now we just need a name for her. Can't use her old one."

"Hmmm, how about one of the fake names escorts and dancers use? Like Bambi, Charity, Delight or Angel?"

"Come on, 'Delight'? 'Angel'? You can give her a 'dancer' name, but at least pick one parents actually give to a child."

Sandra thinks about it for a bit. "Okay, I won't bother arguing that some parents would call their daughter that. But what about Allurette?"

"You've met a girl who was named... no, wait, isn't there that noblewoman?"

"Yes, exactly who I was thinking of."

"Didn't her parents more or less admit they screwed up? Something about lists getting mixed up?"

"Sure, but there is literally a low ranking noblewoman with that name living and breathing right now somewhere in this country and there are lots of lower class families who decided to follow her example. Or maybe we could shorten it into something more catgirly, like Allura?"

"That's the first time I've every heard 'catgirly'. Sure, Allura isn't so bad. Although it's certainly a name that paints a picture."

"The picture we want. We just need some young stud of a nobleman to decide he likes the sound of that and sneak her off to the nearest bedroom. Or closet. Hopefully with such a horny body she won't play hard to get."

You take the freshly named Allura up to one of the recovery rooms. A few heads peek around the corner, Doe is summoned and the introductions and explanation get underway. A few members of the rapidly expanding 'exercise club' that Yvonne and Kyelle started come by to check out the new girl and see if she looks like someone who might like to try some exercise, training and practice bouts. With her dense muscles Allura clearly makes the cut and after Doe and Helena have explained things you expect she'll get offers to meet the rest of the fitness fanatics when she's feeling up to it.

While everyone is checking out the new girl you slip back downstairs. "Okay, Doe is full of energy and giving Allura the tour. Who shall we do next?"

"Actually, a message just came in. Looks like one of the **** traders wants to meet."

"Today?"

"Yeah, this message was delayed getting here. But I think this is a good thing. We've added a lot of big, athletic catgirls to the mix recently. It would be good to transform a few smaller, shier girls. Stick thin girls, dancers, prostitutes, contortionists, maybe some actresses or barmaids. And the journey will give you a chance to recharge."

A few hours later and you're dealing with an oily man who offers you a pretty meager selection. Granted, there aren't any wars right now, so there's a much reduced **** market. You do find one girl who looks like a dancer, she's the easiest choice of the ones on offer.

You also see a girl who is perhaps a former maid or servant, at least from the way she sits. She got hit in the face by something like a pan hard enough to cause damage to her facial bones, but with your skills you can easily correct the damage, so that means you're getting her for less than usual - other than that injury she's cute as a button.

There's also a big muscular woman from the north, sullen and dangerous but tall and buxom, so you get her even though the point of this trip was to reduce the number of powerfully built catgirls you're transforming. At least it looks like most of the fight has left her. She seems cooperative enough.

The last girl you have any interest in is a strange one. She looks a little bit broken, emotionally. Physically she's fine apart from some rope burns and tiny scars. She looks pretty young, probably only 18 years old, has big blue eyes, blonde hair, almost unnaturally white skin and a perfect, egg shaped face, like a doll. She's quite short and slender, almost like there's nothing to her. She barely makes eye contact, but she does watch you when she thinks you're not looking.

When you ask about this girl the slaver says, "Ah, you've got an eye. If it's 'companionship' you want this is the girl for you. Meet Harmony, she's a professional."

"Pleased to meet you sir," she says in a practiced tone that's designed to get the blood flowing to your loins.

"How is it that a cute girl like you got into that line of work?" you ask.

"Oh, it's a sad story sir and I would much prefer to make you happy." She looks up at you for a moment, gives you a brief smile that doesn't reach her eyes and then looks away.

Something about her has you interested, but you pretend this is just business and get back to talking with the slaver. After some back and forth you get a good deal. You may be clearing out all of his young and attractive women, but on the other hand he's now going to be free to head out since those are the slaves he was probably trying the hardest to sell near the capital, where they would command the highest price.

Under the cover of a minor illusion your wagon returns to the hidden entrance to your manor. The heavy bramble thickets roll back and expose the cavern entrance. The girls in the back of the wagon look on in awe, only now realizing they've been sold into the service of a mage. After a little more travel you reach the holding chambers and start levitating your four new captives into the room's solid cages. Far more solid now after your experiences with the mercenaries.

As you do Sandra walks up, full of energy. "I just finished feeding the others. Oh, what do we have here?" she asks, looking at the four new captives, each of them staring at her slack jawed. "Very nice, very nice," she says, nodding to herself. Then to the captives she says, "Hi, I'm Sandra and I'm sure all of you are going to enjoy your time here. It will definitely take some getting used to, but it will be a lot of fun."

Suddenly Harmony jumps at the bars of her cage. At first you think she's trying to escape, but instead she's looking at you not with the sad eyes she had before, but eyes full of hope. "Please, sir, please. You are a mage, obviously. I, um, I had a friend. It's complicated and it's very much to ask of you, but could we speak for a while?"

All that professional and detached nature from before is gone. She's shivering with energy and has her eyes locked on yours.

"Why not?" you say, half to yourself, half to Sandra. You did want to transform one other girl today. You unlock the cages so the three in the room have a chance to stretch their legs and Sandra provides a basket with food, water, even some small ale, as well as changes of clothes. Even the northern woman's expression softens a little at the sight of a substantial meal and fresh clothes.

You move the cage with Harmony inside it to the study - probably a less intimidating room to speak in than the lab. Sandra lays out some more food on the table for Harmony and you let her out of the cage. Alone she's definitely no threat to you. "Please, eat up. When you're ready you can tell me all about this complicated matter. I will be using a spell to let me know if you're telling the truth, but that's all."

She nods and digs into the food. Then she starts to explain. "As I said, I had a friend. She's a bit younger than I am."

"How old are the two of you?" asks Sandra.

"Oh, I'm 20 and she's 19. She's my sisss... She's my sss...." she works her jaw a little, surprised by the effect of the spell. Then she says, "She is like a sister to me. And she was mistreated by my last master. He... enjoyed harming people." She looks at the rope burns. "Some girls could take it, some couldn't. He was very rich and he grew bored easily. Once a girl stopped, um, entertaining him he would sell her off. My friend couldn't take it and she was sold quickly. Even though I tried to pretend that I was broken I kept his interest far longer. In fact I would say I was his favorite for a very long time."

"Why do you want to talk to me then?" you ask.

At almost the same time Sandra says, "You must be glad to be out of his clutches."

She gets a little tongue tied thanks to the pair of questions. She looks at Sandra and says, "Yes," quite emphatically. Then she looks at you and that hope returns to her eyes. "You see, this master always dealt with just a few slavers. Knowing that, I asked the man who bought me about her. He also happened to be the man who sold us both to my former master. She was in such a state when he bought her back that he did actually remember her. And he said he was pretty sure he sold her to a mage."

"What?" asks Sandra. "How the hell did he notice you were a mage?" She looks rather put out.

"Well, some of these slavers I dealt with directly early on, such as when I bought you. It's possible he spotted some mannerism even through the disguise I now use. Something to deal with later." You look back at Harmony and ask, "By the way, who is this former master?"

"We really shouldn't say," she says before the words, "Earl Rallven!" burst out of her mouth.

"A real high ranking bastard," says Sandra, nodding sagely. "Figures he'd be the type."

"So, so, anyway," Harmony says, kneading the edge of her skirt with both hands, "She was like a little sister to me, I took care of her after we met. We looked so much alike they told us to pretend we were sisters so we could fetch a higher price. Please, if just by chance you are that mage, then could you tell me what happened to my friend Helena?"

That makes you drop your glass.

Sandra spins around like someone just lit the room on fire. "Holy hell!" she says. "Helena? Our Helena?"

"Is she here?!?" asks the girl. "Is she speaking again? Is she alright?"

"Here," you say, prepping the scrying spell. As the circle of green energy crackles and begins to open a view on another room of the mansion the girl leans forward eagerly, not a hint of fear at this powerful magic building right in front of her. "She's not as you remember, but she is very happy."

Your words only register as the scrying portal firms up and clears. You aimed the spell at Helena and there she is, sitting on the couch in your room. She's feeding one of Doe's twins, Petra with one breast and one of Yvonne's girls - little Helena in fact - with the other. Lazing next to her is Alice, who's tail is flicking back and forth. Alice says, "I can't believe how long I have to wait. Another week to see these start filling up? I could be helping right now."

Helena giggles, tilting her head slightly so she can look over at Alice. "Just wait, it will be worth it. They aren't as big as Yvonne's yet - I bet that's what's taking all the time. You had to ask for it all, didn't you."

"The bigger the better," says Alice, hefting her small C cups in her hands. "But I wish I could help, I really do."

"Stop worrying so much," says Renee, coming into view. "Our babies are still pretty small. A week or two isn't going to be a problem." She's got two of her own brood suckling at her teats and she sits on Helena's other side. Helena shifts over a little to make enough room, then lays her head on Renee's shoulder.

"To be honest," says Alice, "that's the part I want. You're both so... peaceful."

"Mmmmm," says Renee, her words on the verge of slurring, "that part is worth it."

Alice changes position so she can take Helena's head in her hands. She starts massaging Helena's ears until your meek lover starts purring like there's no tomorrow.

"What's that for?" asks Renee, who soon gets the same treatment.

"That's for marrying me, silly," says Alice. "I'd thank you some other way but we have to wait for our husband to give us the all clear."

"When I finish feeding these two I'm going to thank you back," Helena says to Alice with a big grin. "Was that what you're aiming for?"

"Wait until John tells me I can lay you out on the bed and put my tongue to work - that's what I'm aiming for." Then Alice gives Helena a long kiss.

All through this Harmony has been silent, just watching and processing everything. You end the spell and she sits back in her chair.

"You turned her into a catgirl," she says. "I heard there was such a thing as catgirls, but I haven't met any until now," she looks over at Sandra.

"It's not painful," says Sandra. "And a catgirl body is a lot of fun. But most of the girls here don't remember anything."

"What?"

"Yes, it's true," you tell her. "In changing them I usually wipe their memories. For most girls that's so they can't let the cat out of the bag, ahem, pun not intended. In the case of girls like Helena that's for the best. She was skin and bones when she arrived here."

Harmony nods, tearing up. "I couldn't even get her to look at me. She wouldn't eat, she barely drank water." She gets up unsteadily, then comes toward you. "You saved her, but is she still... her?"

"Sort of. There are always little things that shine through. She's not exactly the same, but she's probably got the same personality."

"And all her new memories are happy ones," says Sandra. "She's married to John and I, five other catgirls and a princess." Harmony looks totally confused. Sandra adds, "It's amazing. A big, loving family. I used to be a 'professional', just like you. My parents sold me into slavery and here, in this mansion, is the first time I'd say I found a real family of my own. It's not the family I expected, but I wouldn't give it up for anything."

Harmony breaks down, tears flowing freely now. She drops the small pairing knife that she'd hidden behind her forearm and throws herself against you. You never saw her slip it off the table, so you pay attention to the glistening steel blade as it drops to the ground. You turn your attention back to Harmony as she lands in your arms, still crying. "You sabed hur, ew sabed hur!" she says over and over, clutching you in a hug.

Sandra comes close and rubs Harmony's shoulders. "Wow, you cared about her so much. You said she's like a sister, isn't she?"

The response from Harmony is barely intelligible, but the nodding seems to be a "Yes".

Sandra looks into your eyes and says, "Family is so important," and you know exactly what she's driving at.