We were in a marketplace. Most of the awnings, tents and signs above the tables were bright gossamer, but the tables and wares were real. The huge willow trees cast partial shade that shifted and moved with the wind above. There was a network of aqueducts, held up by arches, that ran water that cascaded down to several walled pools where the Fairies were gathering water, sitting around and drinking.

Lord Lodestone looked at my backpack. “Thy bag is convenient, yet it has a serious feeling of hostility. The chrome on top of the steel fittings mostly provides protection but one can feel the malevolent danger of steel. Art thou trying to scare people, my liege?”

I shrugged. “Didn’t think about the steel, I just wanted something to keep the purse in until I could give it back. Now that I think about it, the steel might help protect it.”

Lodestone nodded. “Not everyone can detect steel, so be careful and try not to bump into anyone.

I looked up at the awnings as I took off my backpack and held it on top of my head with both hands.

Lord Lodestone looked up at the awnings with me. “Yes, the common folk will use gossamer for a lot of things, but the nobles here avoid it with good reason.”

I gave him a questioning look.

He said, “To some, using gossamer seems cheap, it is poison to mortals, and there are worse reasons.”

I asked, “Worse reasons?”

He looked down from the awnings. “Make a gossamer chair and sit in it.”

I said, “Thou wilt dispel it, and I will fall to the ground.”

He said, “There are worse pranks. Think how wonderful it is to make a chamber pot from gossamer. It holds the night soil, and yet it can be dispelled when thou art ready to dump it. But think how funny Hey Guy thinks dispelling a chamber pot is when someone is carrying it.”

I asked, “Are the nobles all jerks?”

Lord Lodestone pointed to a shop with shiny brass equipment. “They have come together to fight and protect this realm. They mostly leave the folk alone. But, yes, but the nobles take what they want, expect other to clean up their messes, and generally make existence a pain for those around them. They serve another purpose though.

“If someone acts up or thinks they are above the common courtesies, they are forced to serve at court. The nobles teach them to be polite and meek pretty quickly.”

At the shop, Lord Lodestone picked up a large shiny pot.

The shopkeeper said, “Milord, I wouldst be honored if thou didst take it as a gift.”

I felt Lady Anteater trying to slow time. I didn’t let her.

A Fairy shopping at a stall beside us snapped his head around and looked at me.

Lord Lodestone said, “Interesting, sometimes you see a Fairy quite capable of becoming a noble, yet they keep hidden.”

The Fairy that looked at me nodded and walked away.

Lodestone nudged me and gestured for me to look away. “Well, that probably gave it away. All the Fairies capable of monitoring or altering time will know. The Fairy nobles will be aware that we have a king soon enough and then try to find thee.”

I glanced at the Fairy that noticed me. “He could tell I altered time.”

Lodestone looked at the quickly departing Fairy and then nodded. “Some may be qualified to be noble but would rather not hang with the overly dramatic and childish. Leidingstad is one of the newer towns, barely six hundred years, but it is the most central and nice enough that someone can almost live like a noble and still fit in with the common Fairies.”

I felt Hey Guy try to slow time. I stopped him.

Lodestone said, “So Hippy-dippy or Bye-bye will be the next to know that thou art our new king.”

The shopkeeper nearest us winced and bowed. “My lords. My liege, please don’t let the battle be here in the market. Long live Snipsnort.” He looked up at the trees and aqueducts. “I mean it, King Snipsnort. I hope that thou doest live.”

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Then he gave a look of terror at Lord Lodestone. “Please milord, after Duchess Bye-bye reduces this poor unfortunate king to mush, don’t tell her I was disloyal.”

Lord Lodestone said, “We have high hopes for the king.”

I felt Hippy-dippy try to speed up time. I let her.

Lord Lodestone laughed. “That’s going to confuse them for a bit. We should get out of the market though.”

Lord Lodestone flew up to a wooded mountain ridge and perched on the top of a statue under an open white stone building with columns.

I sat at one of the benches. “Doest thou thinkest Duchess Bye-bye will want to fight?”

Lord Lodestone hopped down and turned into himself. “She always wants to fight, but she is probably much more interested in seeing thee turn into a rooster.

“Wait for a moment, my liege, Anteater is summoning me.”

Anteater appeared and looked at Lord Lodestone. “Thou must try and change the time. Someone can stop it. We may be invaded.”

Lord Lodestone looked at me and smiled.

Lady Anteater turned ran and hugged me. “Thou came back. Art thou ready to become a rooster?”

Lord Lodestone said, “He is our new king. He doesn’t have to become a rooster.”

I felt Duchess Bye-bye try to slow time to match with Real. I let her.

Anteater started making one-handed gestures to summon and called out, “Duchess Bye-bye I summon thee.”

“Yes.”

“No. Bring them all through.”

Duchess Bye-bye appeared holding hands with Hey Guy and Hippy-dippy.

Duchess Bye-bye shouted, “Bad Anteater! Let go of my boyfriend!”

Duchess Bye-bye pushed Anteater away from me and grabbed my leg. She looked up at the backpack I was holding over my head. “Thou hast brought a stupid weapon!” She smiled at me. “Doest thou want to fight?”

Lord Lodestone said, “He is our king now.”

Lady Anteater said, “I like the sound of that, what sort of kink?”

Duchess Bye-bye let go of my leg and pushed Lady Anteater. “He said king, not kink. If thou doest put together that all of thee art saying someone stopped time, it is clear that he is trying to weasel out of becoming a rooster by managing to win the bet and become a king.” She looked up at me. “Cheater!”

Lord Lodestone said, “We don’t want a fight to the death over this, so my leige, I should probably take the backpack from thee before thou doest fight.”

I said, “I won the bet, but I won’t let anyone say I am a cheater. Gift me transformation and if I canst I will turn into a rooster.”

Hey Guy said, “I didn’t bring a rooster. No one said to bring Mr. Bill.”

I said, “I have some bones.”

I backed up, opened the pocket of my backpack and took out the bundle of bones with the note on it. Hey Guy snatched the bones from me and ran behind a statue. “Cool, rat, owl—oh, this isn’t like any rooster I ever saw, and I eat them raw. I know a rooster bone, and this one isn’t a rooster bone.”

He peeked around the edge of the statue’s base. “I don’t eat the talking ones. Those have Fairies in them. Where didst thou get these bones? Everyone look at him and make sure he is telling the truth.”

I said, “They were in a box that a Goblin girl gave me.”

Duchess Bye-bye narrowed her eyes at me. “Don’t lie, we can tell. Was she cute? Is she trying to steal thee from me?”

I said, “I only met her for a moment, and it was before I met thee, so technically she was not trying to steal me from thee. I don’t know her.”

Lady Anteater said, “So our new king is a player with girls everywhere. This is great, he got a bunch of bones in a box from a strange Goblin girl, and one of them is supposed to be a rooster bone but isn’t. That’s even braver than turning into Mr. Bill. I say it counts whatever it is.”

Hippy-dippy said, “There is only one way to identify the bone and know if our new king’s Goblin girlfriend is true to him or gave him a bone from a lizard with a congenital heart problem.” She fell over to a bench and posed dramatically with her wrist against her forehead. “Such is true love. She could not bear losing thee to the wiles of the evil duchess so instead she murdered thee by polymorph.”

Duchess Bye-bye had run behind the statue where Hey Guy was.

Hey Guy shouted, “You broke the string!”

Bye-bye came out from behind the statue holding the bone up and examining it. “I say it counts as a rooster whatever it is. That way he can turn into it, and we can know if he has a girlfriend other than me.” She glared at me. “Players always go around breaking the hearts of us little girls.”

She sat on the bench beside Lady Anteater and waggled a finger for me to come over. “Kneel and be gifted. Then take this bone in thy hand and peer closely at it. When thou doest feel its shape, transform!”

I came and kneeled before her. She smiled showing the gap-toothed grin and then kissed my forehead.

I could feel the form in the bone instantly. I took a deep breath and transformed. Everything was fuzzy. I adjusted my eyes then adjusted them more. Things came in and out of focus. Below me were statues and the Fairies were looking up at me, but nothing was clear. I was hungry but they were all a bit big to just bite and swallow.

I took control of the feelings and tried to look out from under the building we were in.

Lady Anteater said, “The most grandest ultimate biggest rooster that ever was. The king of roosters. He will need time to practice being that monster.”

I felt her speed time, so I let her. I wanted to see myself, so I clumsily started shifting position. I fell over and realized I didn’t have hands, and I wasn’t holding my backpack with the girl’s purse. I tried shifting and looking, but my eyes kept doing strange things. The colors weren't right, and I was hungry. I tried talking but the sound I made was more of a honking, bleating sort of thing.

The Fairies ran away. I was hungry and alone and my eyes didn’t work. The sun was going down. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t manage it well. I pushed with my feet and wings until I got over to a statue and tried to stand but I couldn’t get my feet under me, and my feet were odd. I gave up and went to sleep.