Mouse rushed out into the sun. Around the palace to the back, where the low dungeon loomed. Just as he remembered, a thin vine crawled over the back of the building. Mouse hurried over to the vine, peeking over the slender green stalk for the thin gray air-roots.
A loud noise behind him. He turned.
The palace melted under the sun, languishing, fleshy body sagging. Blood poured down the walls and soaked into the floor. The air stank of slaughterhouse under the noon sun, the grass sticky underfoot.
Mouse stiffened. Not now!
A shape loomed over him. He stared up, wide-eyed.
Xenozar stared down at him, easily nine feet tall. His long hair blotted out the sun. Snake-eyed pupils slitted golden irises. He raised his hand and pointed.
Translucent, a half-visible wall extended away from the stonevine-covered wall. Inside, a small, dark shape huddled against the wall. Zalazar looked up, the white flash in his bangs bright against the black. Black, bulbous eyes, like a spider’s, flashed to gold for a second.
“Wha…what?” Mouse stumbled back, raising his hands.
“Show them the way,” Xenozar ordered.
Mouse blinked at him.
“The way.” He pointed at Zalazar.
Haze hung between him and Zalazar. Annoyed, Mouse clawed at it, but nothing happened. He furrowed his brows. Is it an illusion? Dispel!
The haze shimmered. Slowly, it began to clear.
A shadow passed over the sun. Startled awake, Mouse blinked and looked around. Where… what…?
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The dungeon. Stonevine. Right. He looked at the strands in his hand, then back at the wall. His brows furrowed. Was the wall always so long?
Mouse shook his head. Doesn’t matter. I have to get back before the potion spoils! He shoved the threads in his pocket and ran back to the palace.
--
Panting, Mouse rounded the corner to his room and rushed over to the pot. Felix still crouched there, carefully maintaining the flames. He threw three strands of stonevine into the mix and gave it a slow, careful turn.
“Mouse, why—”
“Shh,” Mouse replied, raising a finger to his lips. All his attention focused on the potion, on the dark surface. He held another thread of stonevine between his fingertips, ready to drop.
Silver shone in the low light. Mouse’s eyes shone. Yes!
“Did it work?” Felix asked, looking at Mouse.
“Let’s find out. Cel!”
“Huh? What?” Cel sat up on the bed groggily, eyes half-shut, hair mussed around her ears. She flicked her ears at him, confused.
“Do you wanna be a woman again?” Mouse asked.
Cel blinked and rubbed her eyes. She groaned. “Do I have a choice?”
Mouse paused. He looked at the potion. “I mean… I guess, yeah. I won’t force it on you.”
She looked at him, dazed, then waved her hand. “Oh, no, no, I want to be a woman. It’s just my time of the month, you know?”
“Huh?” Mouse asked.
Cel froze. She grinned and rushed over to Mouse’s side. “No, no, of course you know! Of course you know. Right, give me that potion.”
Of course I know… what? Puzzled, Mouse tipped his head, but poured out a potion into a small glass anyways and held it up to Cel.
She chucked it back. Grimacing, she shook her head. “Whew! Argh, that burns. Alright. I look any different?”
Mouse shook his head. He frowned at the pot. Is there anything I missed? Something else I could do?
“Ah—ahaha! Wait, wait… it’s…” Cel squirmed, giggling. She hugged herself and wiggled in place. “It tickles so bad!”
Cel morphed before their eyes. Her shoulders became less broad, her curves returned, and she shrunk an inch or two. When it was over, she opened her eyes and looked down at her hands, then turned, slowly, peering over her shoulder to take it all in. “Huh. I’m back.”
He grinned and turned to Felix, throwing his hands up for a high-five.
Felix threw his arms around Mouse and hugged him tight. “We did it!”
Mouse laughed and hugged Felix back. “Now we’ve just got to bottle it and get it out to everyone in the palace.”
“Let me and Dayander handle that,” Cel said, patting Mouse on the shoulder. “You did good work, Your Highness, Your Majesty.”