Mouse turned, slowly.

A lovely androgynous figure stood behind him, not clearly male or female. Their skin glowed a faint phosphorescent fungus-green, their eyes shimmered like a kaleidoscope, and their hair glistened like crystal. They smiled at him and nodded quietly.

“Mabel?” Felix asked.

“Is that the fae princess?” Mouse whispered.

Felix nodded. “I think so.”

Mabel looked at Felix, then Mouse. She curtseyed. “My lord.”

“Please, there’s no need, no need,” Felix said, gently lifting her from the curtsey.

Mabel turned. “Then I will go.”

Mouse frowned. Huh? Did she interpret that as him telling her she wasn’t needed? Well... I don’t mind.

“No, no, stay. I had a question for you,” Felix said.

“And I for you. Shall we trade?” Mabel proposed.

“A conversation doesn’t have to be a transaction,” Felix said, furrowing his brows.

Mouse leaned in. “If I may, Your Majesty… fae have a very… er, particular culture. All favors must be repaid. Any action for another can invoke a debt, even if the fae moves of their own free will and the other had no expectation of taking on a debt. Be mindful of your actions around her. She may expect repayment for scenarios in which you would not expect to have to repay. Her offering a trade of questions is already a good deal; asking a question of a fae is to ask a favor, which invokes a debt, but asking an equally-valued question can be considered a fair trade.”

“I did not have the impression you were so well-versed in the fae,” Mabel said, smiling airily at nothing in particular.

“One behaves differently when ambushed than when one has time to prepare,” Mouse replied, smiling back.

Felix looked at the ground, lips moving silently as he digested what Mouse had told him. At last, he looked up. “I accept your trade.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Mabel gestured. “Please, go first.”

“What did you cast, that everyone’s gender swapping was the result?”

Mouse looked at him, impressed. He didn’t ask if she had cast the spell—that would have eaten his question, and gotten him almost nothing. Instead, asking what she cast assumes that she cast the spell and gets him a hint as to what’s going on here. If she didn’t cast the spell, she’ll answer ‘nothing,’ or similar, and he still gets the answer to whether or not she cast it.

Mabel’s eyelashes fluttered. Her smile twisted a bit, and she flicked her eyes at Mouse. “I was asked to take care of someone’s worries concerning the hot spring.”

Mouse narrowed his eyes. Giving away the additional information that someone asked you to cast the spell for free? Fae don’t do that unless they’re trying to stir up shit. She’s after me, for sure.

“The hot spring? But what would they be worried about?” Felix muttered to himself.

“Is that a second question?” Mabel asked quietly.

Shit, no, don’t ask that! Mouse leaned in and whispered, “Felix, remember, this is a transaction. If you ask her a second question, she can ask a second question of you. At the very least, I recommend answering her question first before you ask that question, so you can find out what the price is. Though… given how this second question is potentially more valuable, I would think deeply over the price before you make any rash decisions.”

“Good point. No, that is not a question. Not yet. Ask what you will of me, and we’ll decide from there,” Felix said, turning to Mabel.

She nodded and bowed slightly to Mouse, then turned to Felix. “As you can see, I have become our fae race’s third neuter-sex, and every other inhabitant of the castle has swapped to another of their sexes as well. Why are you still male?”

“I don’t know. Something to do with my magic, maybe,” Felix said honestly.

Mabel tipped her head. “You really don’t know.”

He shook his head. “No, sorry. I’m as in the dark as you.”

The fae princess hummed to herself. She pressed her fingertips together and looked at Felix. “Would you like to ask your second question?”

“Felix, remember, the price…” Mouse hissed.

Felix twisted his lips, thinking. All at once, he looked up. “No, but thank you. I’ll respect that person’s privacy. Whatever it is they were concerned about is their own secret to keep. Though… I do hope their worry wasn’t with me. I would accept them, regardless.” He looked at Mouse.

Mouse shrugged. “Maybe they were worried about you seeing them naked and asked Mabel to, er, level the playing field, as it were.”

“I won’t see any of you naked! There’s, there’s men’s and women’s baths, I’m sure,” Felix said, flustered, waving his hands.

“Oh? You’ve rented out the entire hot springs, no? I imagine no one would look twice if the baths were combined,” Mabel commented lightly.

“I—I don’t want that! I don’t want to see anyone naked!”

“Really, Your Highness? No one?” Mouse asked, teasingly.

Felix glanced at him and blushed furiously. “N—no!”

“Not a single one of the princesses?” Mouse pressed.

“M…maybe one…” Felix muttered shyly.

Mouse’s eyes glittered. “Oh? Which one?”

“That—please, I don’t…” Felix covered his face with his hands.

“If I am no longer needed,” Mabel said, and before anyone could reply, she swept away, light as the breeze.