Delivered by the Defender (Kindred Tales)

“Directly underneath your breast—right where it meets your chest wall,” Kat directed. “And don’t worry—the dots have a natural adhesive that won’t come off—even in the shower or the pool.”

“Okay.” Shrugging, Selena stuck the first two dots under her right breast. To her surprise, it began to rise at once, becoming a full, firm globe as it resisted the pull of gravity. In no time, she was looking extremely perky with her right nipple standing at attention and sticking straight out like a car’s headlight.

“Wow,” she murmured, looking down at herself. “These things really do work!”

“Pretty amazing, right?” Kat asked, from the other side of the screen. “Here—take two more for the other side,” she added, holding out the box again.

Selena did as she said and then tried on the concert gown again. When she came out from behind the screen and looked in the 3-D viewer, she had to admit she was impressed.

“This is really something,” she said, admiring the way the float dots lifted and supported her breasts like an invisible, non-constricting bra.

“You’re going to love them,” Kat promised. “And the dots last forever so now you can throw all your bras away. I know I got rid of mine—they’re just torture devices. Especially with the way the underwire cuts into you—like putting your poor boobs on a sharp shelf. Ugh!” She made a face.

Selena wasn’t sure about actually ditching her bras completely. Though her breasts looked amazing with the float dots, she still felt kind of naked under the formal dress without them. But it was really nice not to have bra straps digging into her shoulders and a tight elastic band cinched around her rib cage. Maybe she would try going braless. As long as she wore a thick enough shirt to hide her rather large nipples, it shouldn’t matter.

“Well, that’s pretty much everything you should need,” Kat told her. “I’ve packed you lots of gowns and formal and informal clothes and shoes to match in your carry-all cube. They’re all miniaturized, so I included a bottle of re-growth serum as well.” She patted the small pink cube, about a foot square, on the desk beside her. “Oh, and I packed you a swimsuit as well,” she added. “Since the part of Ma’shorka Centra you’re going to is famous for its beaches.”

Her words brought home the reality of the situation and Selena nearly clapped her hands with glee.

“I can’t wait! I’m so excited!” she gushed to Kat. “A tropical vacation, a visit with my friend, and a chance to play for royalty—how did I ever get so lucky?”

“You’re not lucky—you’re hardworking and very talented,” Kat said, smiling. “You deserve this chance, doll. You’ve earned it.”

Selena shook her head.

“I’ve practiced hard and done a lot of dreaming, that’s all. And it helps that my friend is the wife of the Kindred Ambassador to Ma’shorka Centra.”

To be honest, she still felt a little guilty about getting to play for the Ma’shorkan emperor and his queens (there were three of them, according to Jess.) She wasn’t really a concert violinist—only the top one percent of professional violinists could really claim that—the really famous ones like Itzhak Perlman or Anne-Sophie Mutter. Though she loved music and played professionally, Selena couldn’t claim to be anywhere near their level. But Jess had insisted on recommending her for the solo performance anyway.

“You play beautifully,” she’d said firmly, when Selena had tried to refuse the honor of playing for the emperor at his upcoming gala. “And besides, no one on Ma’shorka Centra has ever even heard a violin before. They’ll be blown away. Oh, and don’t play anything too fancy,” she’d added. “What about playing the piece you played for my wedding? The one that was so sad and sweet, nearly everybody cried?”

“What—Ashokan Farewell? That’s hardly something I’d choose to play for royalty!” Selena had objected.

“It’s beautiful!” Jess had protested. “Play it—the Ma’shorkans will love it! They’re very emotional people.”

Selena still wasn’t quite sure about playing such a simple piece for an emperor—she’d been thinking about something more complicated and impressive—but she was glad for the chance her friend was offering her, even if she didn’t feel like she quite deserved it. She was a good and dedicated violinist, but she wasn’t as technically brilliant as the really famous musicians in her profession were. If she was, she wouldn’t have to teach high school orchestra for a living.

But at the moment, she could put that completely out of her mind. School had ended last week and she had all of summer vacation to spend visiting her friend and working on her music, which was truly her first love. Visiting Ma’shorka Centra was going to be an amazing adventure and she was going to love every minute of it, she promised herself. And it wasn’t like she was going to ignore Kat’s warning—she would keep a sharp eye out for herself and avoid any possible dangers. This was going to be a perfect holiday with no problems whatsoever.