Seda Rabin was already exhausted.

She stood in front of a building she’d never seen before, a brick-style place that looked out of place next to the larger stores beside it. Unlike Terry’s, the curtains were pulled on the windows, revealing displays filled to the brim with fabric swatches and outfits of various feminine style.

A boutique. There were plenty of the like around, both in these frigid Northlands and in the arid Southlands she’d come from. She’d even been in a few, before. But she would never have thought she would be shopping for herself.

Her eyes flickered, one part nervous and one part exasperated, at the one who had dragged her here. Amelie was busy admiring the warm dresses in the window, tracing a finger in the air to each as she moved through them. “Hmm…no, no…”

After a minute of this, Seda decided she was bored. “...Amelie?”

“Yeah?”

“Could we…go inside?”

“Hmm…” Amelie stared at the window for a few moments more before shrugging. “May as well. I’m not getting any good ideas from the windows.”

“What?”

“Ideas! Thoughts on what would look good on you!” Amelie took Seda by the arm and led her towards the door. Seda didn’t resist, in part because she was sleepy and in part because she wasn’t sure she would have entered on her own. A little guidance wasn’t the worst.

They opened the door to reveal a colorful but cramped shopping floor, rows of clothing racks filled with an enormous variety of outfits. It almost reminded Seda of a used bookstore, in the sense of the cloistered isles being crowded out by the thing that was meant to be browsed. Amelie wasted no time calling out. “Anyone home?”

The subtle sound of a sewing machine in the back flipped off, and there was a rustling in the clothes. A few moments later, a tall, wiry man stepped out from behind one of the racks. With silver-grey hair and a dapper tweed suit, he both stuck out and fit perfectly among the sewn chaos around him.

“Amelie!” He called out, tipping his hat in her direction as he stepped forward. “To what do I owe today’s pleasure?”

“You…come here that often?” Seda asked quietly.

“Nope,” Amelie muttered back. “Vincent’s just got a great memory.”

“Good ears, as well!” Seda and Amelie jumped slightly. He’d heard them from across the store? He smirked. “Though I will say, the hair dye helps jog the memory. You’ve gone pink this season, Amelie? Mind if I take a picture for my sisters?”

“Only if you help us find what we’re looking for,” Amelie replied evenly.

“And what would that be?” His gaze turned towards Seda, who shrank from his piercing look. “Does it have to do with the deplorable state of this young lady’s outfit?”

It’s not that bad, Seda resisted the urge to respond, though she already knew that statement would be torn apart. Even if they had looked nice on Ishmael, her body as it was now was absolutely drowning in fabric.

While she considered, Amelie spoke up. “It certainly does. Seda here lost most of her clothing in a travel incident, and we’d like to grab a few outfits to help her recoup.”

“A travel incident?” Vincent smiled warmly. “Well, Miss Seda, I’d be glad to assist for chivalry’s sake! If you’d step this way, please; we have dressing rooms in the back. I’ll need Amelie as well.”

He stepped back and to the side, opening the hallway. Seda felt Amelie’s hand at her back, pushing her forwards. “Let’s go,” she muttered.

And with that, Seda was pressed forward into the aisle. Vincent led her to the back, where a small series of fitting rooms lined the wall along with a desk and sewing machine. Vincent took a seat at the desk, beginning to rifle through drawers. “Well, truth be told, I have very little experience with Southlander clothing. You may find little here to your liking.”

“That’s…fine.” It wasn’t like Seda was particularly attached to any style of women’s clothes, anyway.

“Then I shall see what we have! Do you have your measurements on hand, young lady?”

Ah. Right. That was something she would have to deal with. Seda shook her head. “No.”

Vincent paused. “Hmm. Well, I certainly can’t take them, and my sisters aren’t due back for another couple of hours…” His eyes landed on Amelie. “Miss Amelie, I’ll give you two a discount if you’d take them for us.”

“Me?”

Seda looked at Amelie, a bit aghast at the way she seemed to be genuinely considering it. In the end, she nodded, causing color to drain from Seda’s face. “Yeah. I think we can do that.”

Before Seda could voice her complaints, Amelie had grabbed her by the arm again, dragging her towards the fitting room. “You-” Seda hissed. “Why?!”

“Because a discount’s a discount,” Amelie answered, frustratingly even-keeled despite Seda struggling. “It’ll get Ms. Vellicent in a better mood. You need to learn how to do this anyway, and you may as well learn it early.”

“I-” Seda paused. Did she need to learn it? The rational part of her brain agreed with Amelie. She was a woman now, at least in body. Learning how to take care of it was important. But her emotions kept getting caught on something. A woman…? For the rest of her life?

Was she okay with that?

The door to the fitting room slammed shut behind them.

--

The next section of Seda’s trip passed in an outwards blur. Amelie taking her measurements was no small amount of awkward, especially because she pulled no punches talking about the things Seda would have to get used to from now on. Similarly, many of the dresses and other outfits she tried on brought a blush to her face simply from the sheer unfamiliarity of it all.

But even though she was nodding along outwardly, her mind was focused on something else entirely. Amelie had been right, she realized. Now that she was away from Ikhan, her thoughts felt rather…different. Clearer was probably the right word, although it didn’t quite feel right.

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Her twin’s presence had most definitely lessened in her mind, though she could definitely feel him prickling in her subconscious. No doubt they’d begin syncing up again when they came back together. But still, there was a lurking strangeness to her thoughts that she couldn’t shake.

Like her being a woman.

Thinking on it, she’d quickly concluded that she was okay with being a woman. Though her body still felt somewhat alien, she was beginning to get the hang of it. She’d even been referring to herself with feminine pronouns with no issue. But that was the issue, in truth.

Ishmael had faced down many ideas of himself as the years had gone by, but never once had he wished to become a woman. And yet, Seda seemed completely fine with it. It was more than a little strange. Was it part of the curse? Maybe.

Though it didn’t much feel like a curse in itself, the thought was frightening. If the curse could affect her thoughts, then what else had it touched? Could she trust her own memories of Ishmael? It felt like every time she tried to pry into it, she hit a snag in her thoughts. What was hiding from her?

Vincent’s voice cut through her thoughts. “What do you think of that, young lady?”

Seda snapped back to reality to notice a mirror had been brought out. The young woman staring back at her looked almost normal. She’d been dragged into wearing a layered jacket-and-undershirt affair, not unlike the one Amelie had on, though with the pale pink traded out for a darker purple. It looked…nice. Felt nice. Much better than Ishmael’s ill-fitting clothes, at least. And yet it wasn’t perfect. “Almost.”

“Almost?” Amelie asked. “Too much, or not enough?”

“Hmm…” Seda gave herself a long look in the mirror. It fit well, it was cozy…so what was it? “Not enough? Maybe?”

“If you’d like to try on accessories, young lady, we have plenty along the shelves,” Vincent said, gesturing to the crammed fabrics on the higher display cubbies.

Amelie nodded. “Take your time. I need a chance to look at my own outfits, anyway.”

Seda gave her a glance. “Your own?”

“Well, duh. Ms. Vellicent’s paying, so may as well take advantage of it, right?”

“...I guess…”

Amelie’s ulterior motives aside, Seda spent a good while poking through the store. A couple of times she found herself cursing her newly-reduced height, standing on her tiptoes to poke through the higher shelves. Even with a few minor inconveniences, though, she made her way across the store.

Wristbands, hats, shawls…Vincent and his sisters certainly spared no expense, but none of them were catching Seda’s eye in particular. Most of them were simply too gaudy for her tastes. Even before the curse, Ishmael hadn’t been a fan of bright outfits, but now? Drawing attention to herself sounded like a nightmare.

Her hands fishing through a tall cubby she couldn’t properly see, Seda felt her hand close around a reassuring fabric. With only a little coaxing, she managed to dislodge it, and a warm yellow scarf fell from above. She went over it in her hands, feeling the nostalgic sensation wash over her. So this was what it was like to find an ideal piece.

She wasted no time finding Vincent, who’d taken up a spot at the sewing machine. “I’d like…this one,” she declared, holding it out.

Vincent looked up, though his hands continued moving. “Ah! If I’d known we still had one of those, I would have recommended it immediately. That’s Southlander silk, isn’t it?”

Seda nodded. “I recognized it…as soon as I touched it.”

“Well! We’ll call that a happy coincidence!” Vincent chuckled. “I’ll gladly add that to the bill, Miss Seda! Let me know whenever you and Amelie are ready.”

Seda smiled slightly as she added the scarf to the slowly-growing pile. Maybe this could be enjoyable after all.

--

By the end of the shopping trip, both Seda and Amelie had arms full of shopping bags. Vincent saw them off with a wave and a smile. “Thank you for your patronage!” He called, bowing. “Come back again! I’m sure my sisters would love to meet you.”

“Oh, we’ll be back,” Amelie replied. “Don’t you worry.”

“I never do!”

And with that, the two young women set off. Seda fidgeted a bit with the bags, a bit thrown off by their weight. Having lost so much body mass, she was naturally having a hard time estimating her own strength. Amelie tossed her a concerned look. “Want to take a break?”

“No…I’ll be fine…” Seda panted.

“You don’t sound it. We’re in no rush, and I bet you’ve had a long day so far.” Amelie gestured with her head to a nearby bench. “Break time.”

A few moments later, the pair was leaning back on the bench. While Seda caught her breath, Amelie was scanning the horizon, watching people go by on either side of them. After a few moments, she nodded. “I’ll be right back. Watch the stuff.”

“Wait, but-” By the time Seda expressed concern, Amelie was already gone, well into the crowd. Figures.

Seda shrunk into the bench, willing passersby to not see her. This was day one of being Accursed, in a body she still wasn’t accustomed to, and the woman who was supposed to be looking after her had vanished. Not to mention the hundreds of dollars worth of clothes around her. Bad, bad, bad. Terrible, even. What was she going to do? What if somebody tried to talk to her? Or steal the bags? What if-

Calm down.

The voice that echoed through her head was unknown to her, but it’s soothing aura was unmistakable. Seda was immediately distracted from her woes, in part from relaxation, and in part trying to figure out who the voice belonged to. Was it Ikhan? It certainly had shades of it, but it was a bit too high-pitched. Her older sister? No, it was too rough for that. If anything, it sounded like…Ishmael? But more feminine? Was that even possible?

Just as she gave up trying to figure it out, Amelie appeared again, holding a crepe in each hand. “Here!” She exclaimed, pressing one into Seda’s arms. “You didn’t get to eat properly, right? Kind of stole it out from under you when we left. So, by apology, here’s a lingonberry cream crepe for you! Eat up!”

Seda took it gratefully, though she gave Amelie a mildly annoyed look. “You could have…said that.”

“But that’d ruin the surprise, right?” Amelie returned to her spot, digging into what looked like a strawberry crepe herself.

“Better that then…ditching me.”

“Ah.” Amelie paused, mouth half-full of food. “I did, didn’t I? Sorry.”

“It’s…fine.” Not really, but Seda had learned something from it, at least.

The two ate in silence for a few minutes, as Seda learned something else new: This crepe was godsdamned delicious. Crepes were a Northlander street food staple, and while Ishmael had tried them when he’d first arrived, he hadn’t latched onto them. Evidently, he just hadn’t found the right type.

But even beside that, it felt like the flavors were simply more present than usual. Was this yet another curse effect? Or just this crepe being incredible? She resolved to ask Ikhan if he’d had a similar experience later.

A few minutes into eating, Amelie spoke up. “So how do you feel?”

“Weird.”

“Very specific. Has separating from your brother helped clear your head?”

“...Yeah. It did.”

“That’s good information,” Amelie muttered. “So proximity affects your thought processes. How about physically? Are you adjusting to womanhood alright?”

“I…” Seda paused, fumbling for words. “It feels…normal? Well, not normal, but…I’m adjusting.”

“Good to hear. Sudden bodily changes usually come with a sense of dysphoria. Even small ones. And turning into a girl overnight is a pretty big change, in my expert opinion.” Amelie leaned forward. “If it ever gets too much, let us know.”

“Will do.”

There was another bout of silence, as the two worked to finish off their meals. As Amelie finished, she spoke up again. “Let me know anything, really.”

“Mmm?” Seda looked at her with a mouthful of cream.

“Well, I mean…” Amelie leaned back against the bench. “I’m kind of, like, your senior in everything, you know? In classes, in curses, in living as a woman. All of the above can be pretty hard. If you need anything, I’m probably the best person to ask. Just let me know, okay? I can have a hard time noticing things like that.”

Seda snorted, almost dropping her crepe. “You can…say that again,” she giggled.

Amelie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Get it all out of your system before you laugh your way into a heap on the ground.”

It took a few minutes, but Seda managed to finally calm herself down, wiping a spare tear from her eye. “Okay,” she said, finally. “Let’s go.”

“You ready?” Amelie stood up, adjusting her jacket before scoping up her bags once more. “Let’s head out, then.”

As the two of them set out, Seda dimly realized that she’d just laughed for the first time since waking up. It’d sounded nice. Hopeful. Maybe there was a chance to live a normal life after all. Or maybe she was just hoping for nothing. Who knew? Maybe the mysterious voice in her head?

She could have sworn she heard a chuckle as she thought that.