Inside the royal castle you stand before King Gerald of Larion. Beside him is the seductive court mage Neela, the stern lady-in-waiting Giselle, and captain of the guard Hans.
You are Oliver, mercenary and expert monk. Kneeling before His Majesty, you listen to his request. "Thank you for responding to my summons, sir monk. I have a most dire problem. My daughter, Princess Freya, has been targeted by a heinous criminal intent on kidnapping her. This is no ordinary man, as several of my best knights have fallen to him."
You raise your head and respond "You would have me hunt this man?"
The King nods toward Neela, who continues "All our attempts to track him have failed. We have an...unorthodox means of capturing him. A body double of the princess strong enough subdue the kidnapper by surprise, requiring no weapons or equipment. Just the job for a monk."
You have a bad feeling about this, saying "You want me to...train a girl in martial arts?"
A charming and slightly disturbing smile crosses Neela's face. "No, silly. His Majesty wants you to BE the girl."
"What?!" you exclaim "Do I look like someone who can be paid to give up their manhood?"
The king gestures toward Hans, who produces a gilded chest. He lifts the lid and reveals a glittering pile of treasure. That has to be worth at least 100,000 gold pieces!
"However I can temporarily pawn off my man card." you say, staring hard at the glittering chest. "But even if you use magic to turn me into the princess, I can't play the part of a royal lady."
King Gerald gestures toward Giselle "This is Princess Freya's lady-in-waiting. She will instill upon you the etiquette and wardrobe required in noble society." Giselle's gaze is filled with contempt towards you. You sense not hatred, but rather smug superiority.
"What say you, sir monk?" says the king.
You are not at all okay with becoming a pretty little princess but that IS a lot of gold...