Everyone gathered in the court room, from the princesses to the courtiers. All the women wore suits and all the men, dresses, clothes ill-fitting all around, with one notable exception. Mouse narrowed his eyes at one man, blonde, hair swept into a male-styled ponytail and dressed in an impeccable suit. Who…?

“Sabelyn?” Felix whispered.

Mouse’s eyes widened. Who would have thought? She’s always so perfectly elegant. Does that simply extend to elegance as the opposite gender as well, or…?

Beside Sabelyn, a grumpy, short human woman frowned at the crowd, a too-large suit almost comically draped over her body.

“Don’t tell me that’s Reginald?” Mouse muttered to Felix.

“Afraid so,” Felix replied.

The king sprawled atop his throne, no less commanding as a woman but clearly uncomfortable, a slight scowl tugging at his lips. He shifted himself slightly to look down on them, irritated. “Who do I have to blame for this… situation?”

Gawain, tottering in a dress, leaned over to her neighbor. Unquietly, she whispered, “What situation?”

“This is wild magic,” one of the courtiers grumbled, casting a glare at the fae princess.

Mabel stepped forward breezily, eyes focused somewhere far from here. “I cast a spell, and this, unfortunately, was its backlash.”

“Well, undo it!” the king demanded.

Mouse stepped forward abruptly. “Your Majesty, please take care. Fae have a unique relationship with magic. They perform best when requested by an outside force, but demand repayment, which may be… beyond what you are willing to offer. Their primordial wild magic often has side effects, which I believe this is, and which they are unable to control. A request like ‘undo it’ could be interpreted by wild magic in one of a million ways, and leave us vulnerable to the primordial magic’s whims. For example, what if the wild magic interpreted ‘it’ as… your entire life?”

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The king drew back in his chair, eyes wide.

Mouse nodded. “Likewise, requesting her in a more careful way to reverse the spell is equally dangerous. The requisite price must be paid, of course, but again, wild magic almost always has side effects. What if the wild magic reversed this spell by making everyone sexless? Or we returned to our original sexes, only to be rendered incapable of reproducing?”

Mabel chuckled. “We fae often wonder if magic is not a living being, with a sense of humor.”

Horrified, the king stared down at them. “Is it impossible to reverse?”

To his side, Sabelyn straightened her spine and gave him a meaningful look.

“Not at all. Moon elves have countered it with potions before, though… every case is different, and one potion cannot counter all wild magic.”

“I also will look into untangling the spell,” Felix pledged, stepping up beside Mouse.

Sabelyn narrowed her eyes at them, then stepped forward. “How are you two the only ones still your original sex?”

“Ah, that—Felix and I were connected at the time,” Mouse explained.

Beside him, Cel facepalmed. All across the court, the princesses stared. I knew it, Brittany mouthed at him gleefully.

“Co—connected by a spell. He was casting the purification ritual on me,” Mouse hurriedly added.

“Right, the purification ritual, that’s all it was. Nothing, er, untoward, just… purification,” Felix said, nodding vigorously.

Mouse cast him a glare from the corner of his eyes. Not helping.

Sabelyn raised an eyebrow at them. “You believe being… connected to Felix protected you? Then what protected Felix?”

“His incredibly powerful inborn magic? A stroke of luck? His good looks?” Mouse shrugged. “We do not know, Your Highness.”

Felix looked up at Mouse, a faint blush on his cheeks.

What now? Mouse wondered.

She narrowed her eyes, then pointed. “And you, what’s your excuse?”

Leaa stepped out of the crowd, her green curves as pronounced as ever, and bowed to Sabelyn.

She’s still female? Mouse frowned.

“I am, at the moment, male. I grew this body to match human aesthetics, and therefore, its shape is not connected to my sex. However…” She shook her petaled head. Pollen rained down onto the court. “As you can see, I now produce pollen in great quantities.”

Uh… is that… is that the plant equivalent of… Mouse glanced at Leaa, then at Sabelyn, who furrowed her brows at the dryad, equally taken aback.

After a moment, Sabelyn cleared her throat. “I understand. Dismissed.”

Leaa bowed again and retreated, swishing her skirt after her to catch the majority of the pollen as she went.