Story - Jenny and The Goblin

[JusticeDuck]

I lurk here quite a bit, but don't really have anything in the way of images to contribute, and I feel kind of bad about it. So, I hammered out an AP story last night. This is my first attempt at something like this, and I don't know if it's good or not, but I enjoyed writing it. I tried to include plenty of detailed process type stuff, since AP/AR stories that skim over that tend to bug me. The true AP doesn't take place until somewhat close to the end, but bear with me. I tried to make it good.

Warning: This story CONTAINS SEX (No rape, though. That's not really my kind of thing) so if that's not your cup of tea, you'd best turn back now. I looked over the rules and didn't see anything that said we couldn't post stories with sexual content, so I figured it was okay. If I missed something somewhere, feel free to take it down.

Sorry for any spelling, grammatical or other errors. I went over it a couple of times, but I probably missed some things anyway. Sorry for the weird formatting, too. I wrote and edited this thing in notepad, so it ended up kind of funky. I fixed it up as best I could.

All the characters in this story belong to me, so don't go stealin' em or nothin'. Not that they're incredibly detailed, but still. :P I'd also apperciate it if you'd ask me before reposting it anywhere else.

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Jenny and The Goblin

by JusticeDuck

An owl hooted an ominous warning as Jenny pushed aside another leafy branch. She pulled her shawl closer about her shoulders and clutched her lantern tightly as her trembling hand threatened to drop it. She thanked whatever powers might be listening that the air was still tonight, or it would have gone out long ago.

The spot was around here somewhere. She knew it was. She'd seen it by daylight, but things looked so different at night, and it was darker than she'd expected beneath the trees. The light of the crescent moon barely penetrated the branches and the trail ahead was getting thinner. Finally, she spotted it: a gnarled little stump that looked eerily like a hunched old dwarf in the darkness. Skirting warily around it, she made her way into the woods on what she dearly hoped was the west side of the path.

She found the hollow fairly easily. So easily, in fact, that it was a bit unnerving. Her hands began to tremble again, and she took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. She'd come this far because she knew exactly what she wanted. If she turned back now, not only would she be a coward, but the thought of what she might have had would torture her until she was forced to set out on the same trek once again. She might as well get it over with the first time. Taking one more breath for good measure, she stepped up to the hollow, closed her left eye, and looked to the right with the one that remained open. Her heart skipped a beat when, in her peripheral vision, she saw a little door in the hollow, just as the legends said she would. Reaching out while being certain to hold her eyes in their awkward position, she fumbled for the handle. After a moment or two, she felt it beneath her fingers, grasped it, turned, and opened the door.

"Who's this, then? What business at my door, and without even knocking!" squawked a crabby little voice. Not expecting such an immediate response, Jenny gave a squeal of terror and this time, she did drop her lantern. Luckily, it didn't break and she picked it up again with trembling hands. As she did so, she beheld a funny looking little goblin with his hands on his bony hips. He wore a soft, floppy blue cap and a ragged brown jerkin that hung to his knees, and was regarding her with an expression of crossness. But not, she noticed, anger. Strange as his appearance was, she suddenly felt better. He reminded her a bit of her good-natured but ornery old neighbor, Mister Aquilus, and she had to supress a giggle.

"I'm a customer, sir." said Jenny, politely. "You have a sign on your door, see? I thought a customer need not knock." In truth, she'd been able to see no sign, but she'd heard there was one. Darting a glance at the front of the door, she let out an inward sight of relief when she saw a crudely lettered wodden plank reading, Customers Need Not Knock.

"Oh, indeed? And what might one such as you have that I'd find valuable, hm? You don't look like much." The goblin sniffed, looking her up and down with a rather disdainful expression. Jenny blushed, both from his scrutiny and from the rude assumption that she had nothing of value to offer. For the hundredth time that night, she worried that her plan would fail; that the payment she offered was unworthy, and would simply be laughed at, or disregarded. The goblin was certainly correct in his assessment; Jenny Mulden didn't look like much. She was a pretty enough little girl, about eight years of age, with warm, brown eyes and straight brown hair cut neatly just above her shoulders. A light scattering of freckles sprinkled her cute button of a nose, and her pink bow of a mouth was always ready with a smile, though it certainly wasn't wearing one now. Swallowing nervously, Jenny told the goblin what she'd brought for payment. It was an idea she'd come up with herself, and she'd alternated between thinking of it as valuable and rather worthless. You never could tell with faeries, or so the legends said.

"Twelve years of my life, sir." she said, in a surprisingly steady voice.

The change in the little goblin was immediate. His eyes widened until Jenny thought that they would bulge right out of his head and the scowl melted from his face. If he'd been a human merchant, she'd have thought he'd just been offered a purse full of gold crowns.

"Well! Well indeed! I, er... Ahem. My appologies, Madam. Come in, come in." The goblin removed his hat, clutching it in his gnarled, oversized hands and standing politely off to the side. The look on his face was one of horrible embarassment, as if he were the owner of a run-down junk shop and had just insulted a lady of great wealth who'd stopped by to browse.

The inside of the hollow contained a strange assortment of the old, the odd and the magnificent. It was as if an antiques dealer and a grocer had raided a dragon's hoard and put together a single shop with the resulting wares. Golden goblets shone buttery yellow beside heaps of questionable looking candies and piles of rather useless looking rocks. Splendid swords in jewel-encrusted scabbards gathered dust amidst broken garden implements. And shelves upon shelves of boxes, jars, bottles, bags and satchels bore such strange labels as Dreams, Revolution, Understanding, Loss, Ideas, Beauty, and Tea Cakes.

The goblin began to bustle about, hurriedly tidying up and moving things out of the way. "We, um... We have many wonderful things that I'm sure you'd... I mean, the place is a bit of a mess, but really, that's what happens when you keep such a wide array of goods in stock. Can I get you some tea? Or... or..." The little fellow was in such a state of embarassment, banging his shins on tables and knocking over one object while trying to straighten another, that Jenny felt quite sorry for him.

"It's a wonderful shop." she said, with absolute sincerity. "I've never seen so many marvelous things in one place."

"Yes, well, I've been here since before the village came. Served mostly faerie clinetele, you understand, but I've earned quite a reputation among your kind as well, since you began living here. Ten generations and nearly ten customers from each. You'll find not a single customer who didn't get what he paid for. Or she." he added, hurriedly.

"I know" said Jenny, walking over to the shelves and peering closely at the labels. "Which is why I'm here. I don't know of anyone else who might be able to get me what I want. If you... Oh!" she stopped short, for she'd happened to glance over at a shelf bearing the label, Marriages. She hurried over to it excitedly, and began scrutinizing the various boxes with eager eyes. Some were made of smooth, polished wood, some were made of what appeared to be fine silver, some were painted with images of fowers or capering children, and a few were covered in sparkling jewels. "Oh, this is exactly what I need!" she said, clapping her hands. "This really is a wonderful shop!"

"Ah, yes, yes indeed!" the goblin said, hurrying to her side. "Marriages are a specialty of mine. You've certainly come to the right place if it's matrimony you're after. Each of the unions on this shelf has been carefully hand crafted and is guaranteed to be of the finest quality and durability. You won't be wanting any of these, though."

"I won't?" said Jenny, her heart sinking. "But I want..."

"Oh, you'll get a marriage, to be sure! No worries. But we can do better than one of these preconstructed pieces. All are of the absolute finest quality, to be sure, but you'll want to make certain you get exactly what you're looking for. A custom job's the thing for you."

"Oh... Will what I have be enough?"

"Oh yes, quite. It's not every day someone shows up at my door willing to trade twelve years of human life, and those of a child at that." said the goblin, hurrying from shelf to shelf, selecting bottles, bags and implements, and bundling them into his arms. "Most of the human years I get are stolen. Stale. They lose their luster when they're snatched by force. Many merchants settle for them because they have to if they want to deal in such things at all. The years that are given willingly tend to come only in small handfuls, one or two at a time, and are usually given by much older persons than yourself. Solid currency, but nothing like what you're prepared to spend. Over a score of mortal years, freely given by a human child is a very generous offer, and I believe in giving my customers what they pay for. Now then, come over here and let's see what we can put together." He motioned her over to a little wooden table, where he began spreading out all of the things he'd gathered.

"Let's see. What sort of marriage would you like?"

"Well, um... A happy one, to start with."

"Yes, of course." said the goblin, uncorking a little glass vial containing a sweet-smelling liquid of indeterminate color and emptying a bit of it into a wooden bowl. "Children, perhaps?"

"Oh, yes please!" said Jenny eagerly. She had always wanted to be a mother.

"How many?"

"Um... I'm not really sure. I mean, I know I want children, but I never really thought about the exact number. Is that going to ruin it?"

"Certainly not!" the goblin said. "I thought this might happen. Here." He dipped a tiny silver spoon into a little silver flask full of a golden syrup and offered it to her. Nervously, she took it and put it in her mouth.

It tasted wonderful, but she barely had time to savor it before she was overcome with strange feelings. Her body felt warm and she began to feel detached from her current situation. While a part of her remained firmly in the shop with the goblin, another part of her was floating away, to another time and place. While her real body stayed exactly as it was, and she continued to feel its solid presence, she seemed to develop a phantom body that she could almost feel in a detached sort of way. This body drifted away from the table, growing bigger and older as it went. Jenny blushed deeply as she felt her phantom body's limbs lengthen and breasts begin to form. The sensations weren't truly physical, but felt as if she were imagining them very vividly. As her ghostly self ripened into full womanhood, she ran her hand over her chest and whimpered with dissapointment when she felt only the flatness of a little girl.

Suddenly, a series of odd sensations began between her legs, and she realized that someone was thrusting something in and out of her phantom body's intimate regions. It was stiff, but warm and seemed to be made of flesh. Though only feeling it secondhand, it was powerful enough that she gave a series of very real little gasps and the muscles in that secret place between the legs of her physical body twitched, as if they were trying to grasp at something. She felt herself grow moist there, as it happened again. Several different stretches of time seemed to be running parallel to each other now, and the realization of what was happening began to dawn on her: her future husband was making love to her future self many, many times, but doing it all at once. It was both pleasurable, frustrating, and confusing. When it stopped at last, she realized she was panting, and her body was covered in sweat. She ached between her legs, and was left with the maddening feeling of a woman thoroughly satisfied after many long bouts of good sex, and a young girl experiencing the strange, bittersweet feelings of desire for the first time but without anything to do about them.

After a moment of trying to get her breath back, she felt her ghost body changing again. Gasping in surprise, she felt the ethereal belly of her other self expanding in pregnancy. She clutched at her middle, but the feeling of grasping a flat shomach while simultaneously feeling it grow very large was so disorienting that she let go almost immediately. When she felt as if her future self would burst, there was an enormous pressure between her phantom legs. Instinctively, she spread her real legs slightly and pushed, trying to give birth to a baby that didn't exist. After a profound feeling of release, the pressure went away.

"One" she stated very clearly, out loud, without knowing why.

No sooner was the word out of her mouth than she felt her other body's breasts and belly expanding again. Again, it ended in a feeling of great pressure and great release. The muscles of her real vagina flexed again as she tried to birth a nonexistent child.

"Two" she heard herself say, without ever really intending to.

"Again, her future body expanded and released. Again, her eight year old girl parts twitched pitifully, not really sure what they were doing, as her mature ghostly form produced another ghostly life. Tears welled in her eyes, as she longed to hold the children that were emerging from her, but knew that they weren't yet real, and likely wouldn't be for years.

"Three" she whimpered.

She was helpless, as her phantom self continued to repeat the process.

Swell, pressure, release, twitch.

"Four"

Swell, pressure, release, twitch.

"Five"

By now, she was sobbing openly as she felt her other belly expand yet again.

"Six" she choked, clutching at the area between her legs, trying to catch the small body she could almost feel emerging and coming up empty. She groaned as her other self's middle bulged for a seventh time, then expressed yet another child.

"Ooooohhhhh!" she whined, as it happened again. "Another one! I'm having so many! They won't stop coming out of me! I can't hold them... I want to hold my babies... Oh, God, Oh... Eight!" she groaned, tensing for another pregnancy. And again, it happened. Her middle swelled and her future self gave birth to a ninth child.

"Nine." she said, with an air of finality. And immediately, her phantom body evaporated. She opened her eyes, which she only now realized had been tightly closed, and tried to slow her breathing. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she felt as if she were in the wrong body. The flatness of her bosom and the shortness of her arms and legs suddenly seemed utterly wrong to her. And yet, at the same time, that other body wasn't hers. She didn't really know what it felt like. The sensations had been nothing but very vivid imaginings. Her vagina felt as if it should be sore, but it wasn't. All that was present was a deep ache that she now realized was sexual need. Her exposure to her future self had awakened very womanly desires in her that she didn't really know how to deal with. She felt light-headed.

"Nine! A lucky number." said the goblin, as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual. "And quite a high number, too. I'd better add extra long life and health to compensate for that. And a good dose of beauty. Now, the children... Here we go. For them, we'll want serenity, intelligence and creativity. You wouldn't want dull, disobedient children. We can add individual things for each of them, too, you know. What else would you like?"

And so the night wore on, with Jenny and the goblin carefully adding ingredients until the mixture was perfect, with the odd little merchant stopping occasionally to mix the entire thing with a golden spoon, or refine the texture with a silver whisk ("You don't want lumps in a marriage" he'd said). As dawn approached, the task was finished and the goblin poured the entire thing into a little box. At first, it looked like a liquid bright as sapphires, and Jenny had been sure that's what it was in the bowl, but when it touched the inside of the box she saw that it had become a fine sand with grains that shimmered like tiny, precious jewels. With a satisfied air, the goblin snapped the box shut, fixed the clasp, and handed it to Jenny, who gazed at it wonderingly. It wasn't as ornate as some of the boxes on the shelf had been, but it had a simple elegance that none of the other seemed to posess. It was rectangular, made of sanded, unpolished wood with with a softly rounded lid and a clasp of gold. Carvings of roses twined round the side, though Jenny wasn't certain when they'd appeared, as the box had been quite plain when the shop keeper first brought it out with his other supplies.

"I... am very pleased, sir." Jenny said, swallowing the instinct to thank the goblin. Faeries had very particular forms of etiquette and considered the human custom of thanks to be course and vulgar. Clutching the box to her chest briefly before slipping it into the little bag she'd brought with her, she bobbed a curtsey to the shop keeper.

"It was a pleasure. I haven't custom designed a marriage in many years. I think that may be some of my finest work. And your offer was more than fair."

"What do I do with it?" Jenny asked, beginning to feel nervous again. She'd considered this to be the hardest part, but she was only halfway through. What would she have to do in order to finally attain what she desired?

"You must take this to the home of the man you intend to wed. Make certain you're alone with him in his house, excepting animals, and offer him the box. When you do, the transaction will be complete and I will collect my payment."

After a few more words and a promise to "tell her friends" about his shop, the goblin showed her to the door. The sun was already beginning to rise as Jenny hurried through the forest toward the village. She'd considered going home first but she wasn't tired at all. In fact, she felt as if she'd had a complete night's rest and had only woken up, dressed and prepared for the day minutes ago. So, instead, she hurried toward the house of Thomas Lauderby.

Jenny had been in love with Thomas before she'd even been old enough to know what that meant. He was a close friend of her father's. A carpenter, who made furniture that was famous throughout the known lands, as well as fine wooden carvings that sold exceedingly well in the city. He was kind, handsome and always full of good cheer, but there was a quiet thoughtfulness about him as well. Unfortunately, this quietness put him out of the running for the hands of most of the town's eligible ladies. He longed to be married and have a family; Jenny knew this because he'd told her father so on many occasions. But the other lads had always been more agressive, and Thomas wasn't interested in butting heads with them over, as he put it, "A bunch of redlarks. Pretty enough, but little more than twitter in the end, and not something you'd want around the house." Jenny had loved him even more for this, and recently, she'd begun to realize that her love was more than familial. Young though she was, she wanted him for her own. She had cried herself to sleep on more than one occasion, aching for the long legs and soft curves of adulthood; trying with all her might to imagine what it would feel like to inhabit such a body, and press it into his arms, for him to caress. More than once, overcome with an impulse she knew would only make things worse but unable to resist, she had crawled out of bed and stood in front of the long dressing mirror in her room, staring forlornly at her unformed body; the short, rather chubby legs, the tiny childish hands, the flat, girlish chest and the round face, still carrying liberal amounts of baby fat. She was pretty enough. She knew that. One day, she could tell, she would be quite a desirable woman. Everyone always said she would grow up to look exactly like her mother. Jutting hips. Well formed legs. A full, round bosom. Her mother had all of these, and even at seven years old, Jenny's own body had begun to show vague hints that these qualities would one day emerge in her, but it would be too late for the man she loved. Too late for Thomas. Quiet and reserved though he was, he wanted a family and some day, long before she was grown up, he would have one. What could she do? Tell him to wait for her?

There was, however, one chance. Maybe. Though it wasn't done to speak of such things openly, folk in Harilai Village had certain options for attaining what would otherwise be unattainable.

At first, seeking out the shop had only been a passing fancy. Everyone knew about it, though no one would admit to entertaining thoughts of utilizing its services. Few, in fact, would even admit to believing in its existence. But its presence was a constant in Harilai, as it had been for generations. It was said that the town's founder himself had somehow raised the village with the help of the strange little goblin who dwelled in the hollow beneath White Bron Hill. He could provide nearly anything, the legends said, but he always demanded a high price. And it was as she was lying in bed, listening to Thomas speak with her father one night, that the idea had begun to nag at her. Irritatedly, she had brushed it aside night after night. She was only a little girl, after all. What did she have to offer? What would be of great enough value to the goblin under the hill that he would give her two seemingly impossible gifts at once: the gift of womanhood, and the gift of marriage. Then, one evening, it had come to her suddenly, and with no explanation. She would offer her very childhood. She'd heard that human years were often stolen from mortals by tricksy wights, so they must be of some value to them. Would the goblin take a dozen years of her own youth in payment for a marriage? If so, then she would be able to attain both womanhood and the union she so deeply wished for.

With the knowledge that she might, indeed, have something worth offering, and the fact that it was something she wanted to be rid of anyway, the niggling little idea became an obsession. She could barely sleep, and had become moody to the point that her father began to fear she was sick. Worse, Thomas himself took her into town several times to try and cheer her up, taking her to a local carnival and buying her candy, and even a splendid doll that a peddler had brought from the capital. All of this only made her misery worse, as they were constant reminders of what she was to him; a little girl that he was fond of. The young daughter of his dear friend. Nothing more.

The final straw had come when, a few nights later, Thomas and her father had been sharing a few mugs of cider in the kitchen and the talk had turned to women. Jenny's mother had, as she often did, mentioned someone who she thought might catch Thomas' fancy and, as always, Thomas hadn't been interested. "Lily's a nice enough girl, Margaret, and I thank you for your concern on my behalf, but she's not what I'm looking for. She's rather dull, and I can't imagine she's ever picked up a book in her life. There is no wonder in her. If I'm to be wed, it must be to a woman who can look up at the stars and see more than just points of light."

"Thomas Lauderby, you are impossible." Margaret said, with a look of exasperation. "You say you want a family, but you turn up your nose at every young lady in town. You want some fairy princess with stars in her eyes who'll ignore every other lad who might fancy her and has eyes only for you, despite that you won't lift a finger to curry her favor. No such girl exists outside of a storybook, and the sooner you learn that, the happier you'll be."

"Ah, but you're wrong, Margaret. There's young Jenny here, isn't there? If there's no such thing as a perfect girl, then where did she come from?" Laughing, he reached down to where Jenny sat beside her father's stool and swept her onto his lap. "Find me a girl like your Jenny here, and I'll marry her in a moment. I'll settle for nothing less."

Jenny had sat in Thomas' lap as her mother had rolled her eyes, and her father laughed loudly. Her cheeks had burned, both with the nearness of him, and with frustration at the feeling of terrible smallness that engufled her. She tried to smile, as was likely expected of her, but could only close her eyes and suffer in silence. The desire to press herself against him and pull his face to a bosom she didn't have was so strong that she felt she might burst into tears at any moment. That night, she had made her decision. She would go to the goblin beneath the hill, make her offer, and ask for his help. It was either that, she felt, or die of a broken heart before she'd lived to see her first decade.

It had gone better than she could possibly have hoped. She had her marriage, clutched tightly to her chest in a rough little sack, and she had only to present it to him for both her dream and his to come true. Was this selfish? Would he resent being forced into a marriage this way? Or would he see it as being forced at all? He'd said he wanted a girl like her. It had been a joke at the time, but there had to have been a grain of truth there. He'd always said he loved her imagination, and the wonder and curiosity with which she looked at the world. She had invented whole universes with him, and they had lain together under the stars, thinking up names for those that didn't yet have them and wondering if, somewhere out there, other worlds like this one might exist. He loved her. He didn't love her in the way she wanted, but that was only because she was a little girl. If the spirit his heart loved were contained within a vessel his body could love, surely things would be different. They had to be.

She was nearly out of breath when she reached his house, a cozy little cottage attached to a quaint workshop where he worked his magic. It was a nice place, which Thomas kept very clean, but it was rather plain. There should be flowers in the window box, Jenny thought. Flowers would look lovely. Once we're married, I can... Her thought ended there and she began to blush again. She couldn't believe this was really happening. What if he rejected her? Could he reject her? Would the goblin's spell allow it? And if he did, would she still be required to pay for what she'd bought? She couldn't recall ever hearing about faeries having a return policy. What if he didn't fall in love with her, and she was left outside on his doorstep, a weeping young woman who'd bartered away her childhood but was left with no husband to show for it? Her heart hammering harder than ever, she knocked on his door.

It seemed an eternity before he answered, with her shifting nervously from one foot to the other as she waited. Finally, the door opened and Thomas looked down at her in surprise. "Jenny! Hello there. What are you doing up so early? Is everything all right?"

"Hi, Thomas." she said. "Everything's fine. I just... um... can I come in?"

"Certainly." he said. "Come on inside. I was just about to start making breakfast."

"Is anyone else here?" Jenny asked nervously, stepping into the house and glancing from side to side.

"No, of course not. No customers yet. It's far too early."

"Oh... Good." she said, lowering the bag and reaching into it as he closed the door. With great effort, she forced her hands to remain steady as she reached inside and pulled out the carved wooden box. Trembling all over, she turned and presented it to him, holding it up with both hands, her face turning even redder than before.

"I... m-made this f-for you." she stammered, her hands beginning to feel weak. Her head felt like it weighed as much as a full bucket of water, but she forced herself to look up into his eyes. Slowly, he took the box from her and her heart beat even faster. Butterflies did loops in her stomach as he looked at the lovely little box.

"Jenny, it's beautiful. You made this?" He said, turning the box over and over in his hands.

"N-not the b-box." she said. "It's w-what's inside. I m-made... I m-made it for..."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Thomas said, looking down at her with concern. "Do your parents know you're here?"

"P-please" she said, almost sobbing now with nervous anticipation. "I p-paid a lot f-for the things to m-make it. Please, j-just open it?"

"All right." he said. "Let's see what we have here." And, with a slight frown of puzzlement on his face, Thomas opened the box.

A soft light shone briefly from within, and the dust inside began to drift upward, twirling and sparkling as it did. A lovely smell, like roses and honeysuckle and freshly baked break emanated from inside. As it did, Jenny felt strange, as if something indefinable was flowing out of her and slipping away.

It's happening! She thought to herself. He's taking his payment!

"Jenny..." Thomas said, his voice tinged with wonder, and a little fear. "What is this?"

"I m-made it for you." she said, clasping and unclasping her hands in front of her as she felt her life rushing swiftly by. Did her voice sound a little different? It was hard to tell. "I-it's... a m-m-ma... um... a m... marriage." Yes, her voice did sound different! It was very slight, but noticable. She was getting older! "I know you always wanted a wife, so... so I went to the goblin under the hill... I... I got him to make one for you."

"Marriage?" Thomas said, his voice still full of wonder. "To who?"

"To... um... to..." Jenny's body felt strange, and she was finding it difficult to concentrate. She felt... taller? Yes, definitely a little taller. Her legs and arms felt longer, and her torso felt the tiniest bit stretched. "To... m-me. It's to me."

"To you?" Thomas said, turning his eyes to hers. "But you're just a..." He stopped short, and she realized that she must look quite different than she had a moment ago. "Jenny, what did you do?"

"I gave him my childhood. Twelve years of my life. He's taking them from me now. I... I'm growing older. I can feel it." she said. "Don't tell me I shouldn't have. I wanted to. I wanted to do it more than anything. I love you so much. I don't just want to be your friend's daughter. I want to be your wife." She heard her voice maturing even as she spoke, and felt herself slipping smoothly forward in time, her life unraveling behind her like a an old sweater. She was well past his waist now, but her dress wasn't growing any tighter. She wasn't simply growing, she was moving through life itself at a fantastic rate, and reality was altering subtly around her.

"Please be my husband." she said. "I promise I'll be a good wife. You said the other night that you wanted a wife just like me, and now you can have one! I..." Jenny trembled and closed her eyes as she felt her nipples tingle briefly, and then begin to protrude from her chest, the sensitive nubs rubbing against the inside of her dress. "Look at me, Thomas." she said, opening her eyes and looking up into his, noticing that she didn't have to tilt her head quite as far anymore. "Look what's happening to me. I won't be a little girl much longer. I can feel my breasts growing. My parents won't know. No one will know but you and me. Can you see? The world is changing just for us. And I'm changing just for you." As if to highlight her point, the front of her dress began to push gently forward as the nubs of her growing breasts lengthened into dainty cones. She felt her legs stretching, and noticed a slight pressure in her hips as they began to widen. She tilted her head slowly downward as she grew, keeping her eyes locked with his as she awaited his answer. "Please say yes." she said, marveling at the sound of her own voice, which was swiftly becoming that of a young teenager. "We can have everything you've always said you wanted. Children. A family. We'll be so happy. Oh, Thomas, please say yes. Please."

Thomas hesitated for a moment, appearing torn. This had all happened so suddenly. Maybe she'd been in too much of a hurry, Jenny thought. Maybe she should have talked to him first. Maybe... But now he was looking down at her with a new expression on his face. It was one that she'd been longing to see for almost as long as she could remember, and it scared her a bit, but thrilled her as well. After a moment, he embraced her, pressing her to his chest.

"Grow, Jenny." he whispered to her. "Grow up quickly. I want you to be my wife. I want to be with you forever. Thank you so much for giving me this."

Sobbing with joy and relief, Jenny pressed herself against his chest, all fear leaving her as she hugged him tightly. With mounting excitement, she felt her cheek sliding up his body as weeks, months and years continued to spin away from her. Her legs ached and tingled as she put on height, and she could feel the roundness of her hips becoming more pronounced. The pointy cones protruding from her upper body began to feel fleshy and heavy, as the area of her chest behind them began to puff out and swell with breast tissue. Sighing happily, she looked up at him with her arms still wrapped around his waist. "Oh Thomas, look at me. I'm growing up. It feels so good."

"You're starting to look like your mother" Thomas said, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. It had grown much longer, and now fell almost halfway down her back.

"Is that okay?" Jenny asked shyly.

"Oh yes, it certainly is. In all honesty, I was always a bit jealous of your father. Your mother is a beautiful woman. But you are even prettier. And more lovely every moment. I love you, Jenny. I've always loved your spirit. I wanted a daughter like you someday. I used to wish sometimes that you were my own daughter. But I never imagined loving you like this."

Jenny felt as if she were swimming in a sea of pure joy. Her heart was still hammering, but no longer with worry. Now, it was anticipation and growing desire which fueled her. Smiling up at him, she savored his scent, and the feeling of closeness, and the narrowing gap between their ages. And then, Thomas bent his head down and whispered something in her ear which caused her jaw to drop and her face to turn crimson. "I've always wanted a wife with big breasts." Thomas said. "And yours are growing so large. You look like you might be about thirteen, and they're already so big." His breath became slightly ragged and he moved his body against her in a way that both frightened and thrilled her. She felt something hard in his pants press against her stomach, and knew immediately what it was, as the memory of her future self's ghostly lovemaking came back to her. "Grow, darling. Grow quickly for your husband. I can tell what you're going to look like. I can see the woman you're becoming, and I want her. I want my beautiful, big breasted wife."

Jenny had never heard Thomas speak like this. She hadn't even guessed that he was capable of it. And yet, something in her responded. At first, she felt scandalized, but then realization dawned: lovers talked this way. They said things to each other that were meant to be heard by no one else. Secret desires that lay beneath the carefully painted masks worn in the outside world. And she wasn't a little girl anymore. She didn't feel like one at all. She could feel the added length of her legs, and the gentle swell of her own bosom beneath her dress, growing more pronounced with each passing moment. This wasn't inappropriate. This was right. Her apprehension turned to jubilation, as she realized that not only did this truly drive home how much he'd accepted her, but that they were doing nothing wrong. The transaction had been completed. Reality was still changing around them but, for all intents and purposes, they were married. She was his wife, or would be within the next few minutes. Her maturing sex grew moist at the thought. At this moment, what she wanted more than anything in the world, was for her body to please him. If big breasts were what he wanted, then that was what she wanted too.

Glancing down, Jenny noticed that, along with her body, her dress had become more mature. It showed a bit more of her shoulders, as was the custom for girls who had begun their monthly cycles, and there was a lace-up bodice. Hurriedly, she began untying it, but found it rather difficult, as her fingers were steadily lengthening and her hands changing shape. "Help me." she gasped. "I want to see them. I want to know for sure."

"Don't worry, love." Thomas said gently, moving her trembling hands aside and untying the laces. "I've watched all the girls my own age and younger grow up. I've seen what girls who're going to have big breasts look like. You're definitely one of them. Besides, I'd love you even if you weren't. I'm just rather overcome. I didn't mean to..."

"No, I want to see." Jenny breathed, watching her chest intently, waiting to see what was revealed. "I want to see my body. It feels like I've been a little girl for a hundred years. I can feel myself changing, but I want to see it, too. And, I... I want to grow big for you. I've seen you look at my mother's chest, and Robin Dawsey's, and Jane Harrow's. I..." She stopped as the last lace was undone, and the front of her dress was parted. She'd seen her chest only last night, as she changed clothes to go out looking for the goblin and, as she had so many times before, she had hated the immature flatness of it. Now, that same chest was transformed. The torso itself had elongated and widened, and where the smooth flatness of a small girl had been only this morning, were two firm, round swellings, rising and falling gently with her breath. They were still immature - a cone of flesh, capped by a soft pink nipple, jutted out from the tip of each one, as if begging to be sucked - but they were most certainly breasts. And Thomas was right. Though they hadn't yet grown to fullness, they were definitely going to be large. She recognized her mother's shape emerging in her and, as she watched, they slowly continued to expand. Fascinated, she caressed them with her fingertips; first the firm, round swellings and then the sensitive cones at their tips. Tears sprang to her eyes at this visual confirmation that she really was growing up. Right here, right now. "Oh God, they're real." Her face flushed as a new passion ignited in her, and she looked up at the man in front of her.

As Jenny looked into the eyes of the man who would soon be her lover, she felt her body continuing to change and now, she was confident that it would be the body he wanted. Her head came up nearly to Thomas' neck now, and she was beginning to enter true maturity. Her hips were widening dramatically, aching pleasantly as they grew, and she felt her thighs thickening. Her breasts felt warm and heavy, the immature protrusions of her nipples gradually growing smaller as her bosom swelled, slowly becoming rounder and fuller. She felt a peculiar itching sensation between her legs as hair began to sprout there, and gave a sexy little squirm at the odd sensation of it pressing against the inside of her undergarments. God, she was getting so big! Her lips turned up in a seductive smile that she hadn't even realized she was capable of, and she pressed her chest firmly against his, loving the feeling of her ripening mammaries as they squished against his body. She gave a little "Mmmmmm" of pleasure as she felt the bush between her legs grow thicker.

"I'm coming, husband." She whispered, her gaze still locked with his as she inched steadily into womanhood. "I'm turning into your wife as fast as I can." She pressed her bosom harder against him and breathed in, deeply. She was nearly sixteen now. She knew it instinctively. But she wanted to be older. She didn't want to be a cuddly little girlfriend. No, she wanted it all. She wanted to be a woman. "Can you feel my breasts? Can you feel how fast they're growing, just for you?" She whispered. "They know that you want them, so they're getting bigger and bigger, as quickly as they can." Jenny was astonished at herself. She hardly knew where all of this was coming from, but the words flowed out from between her lips like hot water, burning her tongue as they went. She couldn't stop them, and she didn't want to. "Watch me." she breathed. "Watch me grow for you. And touch me. Put your hands here... and here..." She moved one of his hands gently to her bottom, and another to her thigh. "Please don't feel any regret. I didn't want my childhood. Not when I could have this instead. I love you, and I want you to see and feel every detail of what's happening to me. I want you to drink it in, and know that I love it. Do you feel my bottom growing? Oh! Ahhhhh... And that. My hips. Do you feel them growing wider, so that I can bear your children? Look at my breasts. Look at my cleavage. Oh God, you were right, they're getting so big! I can't wait for you to kiss them and suck them. I can't wait to feed our babies with them."

Thomas had stopped speaking and was watching her in fascination, his face burning with desire as he listened to the young lady who had been a sweet little girl only moments ago breath words drenched in desire, and watched her grow into a volutpuous woman before his eyes. Her breasts had swelled beyond the loose confines of her unlaced dress and now spilled freely out of it. Both he and Jenny watched with delight as they shed the last faint traces of immaturity, the cones at their tips growing smaller as they filled out into a full, round shape. And still, they continued to grow. Thomas held her tightly, his manhood fully erect in his pants and pressed against her stomach. His breathing was heavy and irregular.

"I want you to kiss me once I'm tall enough to reach your mouth. And then, I want you to suck on my breasts. They're going to be so big. They'll need to be sucked when they're finished growing." She said.

Jenny was now eighteen years old. Her growth was beginning to slow, her head just above Thomas' chin. "Now" she said. "Kiss me. Please, I'm almost there. Kiss me, while it finishes." Immediately, she felt his lips on hers and he kissed her. At first, she kissed him back like a little girl, with her mouth closed, but she soon began to get the right idea and opened her lips to let him in, searching his mouth with her tongue and feeling him probe hers. For two years of her life, Thomas Lauderby kissed Jenny Mulden passionately. Jenny's breasts, already large and full at eighteen, seemed to stop growing for a few moments and then, quite suddenly, gave a last burst of growth as she reached twenty, squashing themselves hard against Thomas' chest. Tensing in surprise, Jenny gave a delighted little squeak, startled but pleased at the unexpected extra size increase. She was now, she realized with great satisfaction, quite a bit larger than even her own mother. After what seemed an eternity, her mouth finally seperated from his.

"I'm here, husband" she said, a thrill running through her at the sound of the rich, womanly tones issuing from her throat. "Your wife is here. And I'm never going to leave you."

"Jenny... I... God, you're so beautiful." said Thomas, running his fingers through her hair and gazing down into her deep blue eyes. She was still recognizably the same Jenny she had been when she'd shown up at her door only a few minutes ago, but at the same time, very much changed. Her brown hair cascaded long and straight over her shoulders and down her back. Her round, childlike face had retained a certain pleasant plumpness in the cheeks. The freckles on her nose, though still present, had dimmed considerably and her skin was ever so slightly darker. Her neck was elegant and graceful and her shoulders, beneath her hair, were round and smooth, extending into beautifully toned arms that encircled his waist. Her bodice was undone in the front, and parted to reveal the most beautiful pair of breasts imaginable. They were large, round and full but very firm and shapely, capped with firm, erect, dusky pink nipples. His hands, still on her hips and thigh, no longer felt the body of a teenager, but the soft fullness of a woman in full bloom.

Smiling as his eyes roamed her body, she snuggled into his chest, nearly purring with delight. "Thank you. I'm so glad you like... it. Me. Everything. I was afraid you might not."

"How could I turn this down?" He whispered, burying his nose in her hair and breathing deeply. They remained this way for a time, and then slowly, Jenny pushed away from him and looked up into his eyes. The vague, pitiful ache she'd felt between her legs after the lovemaking of her future self had deepened and intensified. No longer did she feel the faint imaginings of future sensations, or the vague, immature itch of a small girl. Her loins burned, ached and throbbed with very real need, and she realized that what she needed was her husband. She needed to be even closer to him. Much closer.

"Thomas" she said, softly. "I need you." Closing her eyes, she removed her hands from around his waist and cupped her generous breasts, caressing and kneading them through her dress. "My body... I feel like it's saturated with sexuality. Everything... I can feel everything. My breasts, and my bottom, and my thighs... I feel so different. Before, I was so smooth and small and simple. Now everything on my body feels big, and soft, and heavy. When I move, a dozen other things move or squish or... or... And it's all tingling, and bulging, and... and throbbing... My nipples feel stiff. My breasts feel all warm and it's like they're buzzing, and they're sooooo full and heavy. I'm wet between my legs. I'm so wet that I'm dripping. And I know what that means now. My mind feels different. I know things... I can... Oh, but I can't think. I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm a woman. I'm a grown up woman. I feel so female. I'm horny. Suck my breasts. Make love to me. I need sex. Oh God, I need sex. I'm so hot, and it's all so strange, and I..."

"Hush, love" said Thomas, lowering her to the floor and slipping her dress from her shoulders as he buried his face in her very ample bosom. "Hush, now." And there, on the floor of their home, he took her for the first time. Jenny opened her legs eagerly and he penetrated her. She felt him thrusting hotly into her again and again, as he kissed her voraciously, kneading her breasts and then sucking the nipples greedily. After what had felt like an eternity of being unable to stop from speaking, she finally gave in to pure desire. Her vocabulary dwindled and vanished, replaced by a series of grunts, groans, moans and whimpers as Thomas rammed himself into her repeatedly, spurting his hot, life-giving seed into her eager belly. She cried out in ecstasy, realizing full well what was happening and what it would do to her. Her babies. She really would get to hold her babies. They held each other for a while afterward, but both were still breathing hard and knew they weren't finished. Soon, he was ready again and he took her a second time, adding even more of his seed to her womb. And soon, he was ready yet again.

"More!" she whined, twining her legs around his back and using her heels to shove him deeper inside her. "I want babies! Make me a mother!"

For three hours, Jenny and her new husband rutted like animals on the floor, neither able to control themselves. She orgasmed repeatedly, reveling each time in the wonderful sensations that gripped her body. He massaged and suckled her breasts, nuzzling his face against them and kissing between her cleavage. And every time he spent himself inside her, he seemed to grow hard again almost immediately. Somewhere in the back of Jenny's mind, she knew this wasn't normally possible. That it must be something in the goblin's magic that was giving them such incredible appetites and stamina. But that was far, far back in her mind. The rest of her brain was on fire with lust, as she greedily drained her new husband long past the point where he should have been dry.

Finally, it subsided. The two lay together on the floor, breathing hard and gazing into each other's eyes. Then, without a word, Thomas picked up the naked woman on the floor and carried her upstairs in his arms. Kissing her on the mouth, he laid her on the bed and they made love again, this time more gently, exploring each others bodies with soft kisses and loving caresses. For the final time, he expelled his seed into his wife, before taking her into his arms and settling in beside her, under the blankets.

"Don't you need to open the shop?" Jenny asked quietly.

"Not today" said Thomas, with a smile. "We were just married last night, remember? No one will be expecting me to work today."

Jenny briefly searched her memory and realized that it was so. The memories of her wedding night were still fresh in her mind. She could still taste the food, and could clearly remember the vows they both had said. "Oh..." she said, wonderingly. "You're right." They both lay together for a while, listening to each others breathing.

"Are you dissapointed that we missed our own wedding?" Thomas asked.

"No" Jenny said, smiling. "Because we didn't really miss it. How could we have, if I can remember it so well? It's part of our past now. And besides, what I really wanted was just to be with you. Weddings are nice, but they're a lot of work. It's probably better that we were able to do it without really doing it."

Thomas laughed softly at that. "You really are an unusual girl." he said. "I never thought I'd hear one say something like that."

"Not a girl" Jenny said, pressing his hand against one of her large breasts, which was rising and falling softly with her breath. "I'm very tired of being a girl. Do you feel how big I've grown for you? A girl wouldn't have these."

"You're right" Thomas said, caressing her nipple. "A woman."

Jenny shuddered and pressed herself against him, then opened her eyes in surprise. "You're hard again." she breathed.

"I know. I can't help it. I don't think I'm done yet." His breathing was growing ragged once more.

"I... Oh God, I'm not either. I thought I was, but I'm getting wet. Oh Tom, is it always like this, being an adult? How do you stand it?"

"You get used to it" he said. "And it's not always this strong. I think some of it's the magic. And some of it's that you're just... so..." He stopped, as he felt something warm and wet press against his manhood.

"Put it in" she whispered, her voice trembling on the edge of control. "Fuck me hard, suck my boobs, and make me scream."

And so he took her again, as the morning sun washed over them from the window across the room.

********

Weeks, and then months came and went. The seasons began to turn, and soon it was autumn. Life continued to play out slowly. For a while, Jenny was quiet and very introspective. She would sit for hours at a time beneath a tree with her husband, searching her memroes of growing up and sharing them with him. They were happy times that she found there, and sometimes she felt a slight twinge of sadness at having missed them, but it never lasted long. She had only to lean her head against her husband's chest or look into his eyes to know that it had been worth it.

Jenny's parents seemed unchanged, despite that they now had a twenty year old daughter, and no one seemed to think anything strange of it. She and her mother became close friends, and soon found out that they were both going to have children.

One morning, as she was walking through the forest to a neighboring village, Jenny stopped as she glimpsed the gnarled old stump that looked like a dwarf. Had it been only a few months since she had last seen it, or had it been twenty years? It was hard to tell. As she stood there looking, a smile came to her face. She was acutely aware of her body again, as she had been after she'd just changed; the gentle swell of her slowly expanding belly, the mature shape of her legs, the wideness of her hips, the roundness of her bottom, and the heaviness of her full breasts, hanging warm and soft from her chest; swollen now with pregnancy as well as maturity. She gave a sigh of deep contentment, her heart filling with gratitude for the funny little goblin who'd given her all of this.

"I'm closed, you know." came a familiar voice, causing her to jump. "Don't open until sunset. Wouldn't be proper."

Startled, Jenny noticed that a thin line of smoke was rising from the other side of the stump. Peering around it, she saw the goblin merchant, smoking a long, strangely carved pipe, his hands behind his head and his legs crossed at the knee.

"Oh! It's you, sir. I wasn't here to buy. I was... just looking."

"Hm? Oh, it's you." he said, glancing her way briefly. "How's marriage treating you?" There was something slightly guarded in his tone, and Jenny giggled as she realized what he was up to; he wanted to check up on his work. It was his finest, he'd said, and he wanted confirmation.

"Oh, it's wonderful." she said, smiling. "I'm more convinced than ever that you have the most splendid shop in the land."

"Well! Of course I do. As I said, my customers get what they pay for. I hope you'll drop by from time to time, to let me know how things are getting on."

"Of course." Said Jenny, smiling. "I'll come every year, if you like."

"Splendid!" said the goblin. "And if you're elsewhere, and can't come to me, then I shall come to you."

"Goodbye, then." Jenny said, dropping a slight curtsey, while being careful not to drop the basket she was carrying.

"Farewell." said the goblin, rolling his eyes skyward and puffing away on his pipe.

And Jenny resumed her trek out of the village, humming to herself as the red and golden leaves of autumn drifted to the ground around her.