Yuki waddled, wobbled, and swayed, her arms akimbo while she struggled to maintain balance and avoid tumbling on her behind. She never realized how hard it was to walk on two legs. Instincts told her to crawl on all fours like a baby, which her pride refused. Yuki was a human-turned-rabbit-turned-human; she could deal with walking on two legs. The cold air prickled her exposed skin, and she shivered.

The shapechanged rabbit hadn’t considered the lack of fur when making her escape plans. She walked to the wardrobe with slow, deliberate steps and picked one of Jenny’s white blouses. It would serve as improvised garments. Yuki looked about, searching for anything else she could use, but decided against taking anything from Jenny. She wasn’t a human anymore; she didn’t need any other human things. What would a rabbit do with coins after the magic wore off? A lot of things, it turns out, but Yuki didn’t want to steal from Jenny, so she left at that.

She hopped toward the door, lost her balance, and fell. She got up and took careful steps instead of hopping. It was slow going. Her center of gravity was all wrong, and her legs didn’t move the way she expected. The arms were the worst of all; they kept flying about, trying to find balance.

With only three more falls, she arrived at the door. On the tip of her toes, she grabbed the handle, pushed the door open, and stepped outside.

The manor was dark and silent. In the corridor, with no light from the moon, it was hard to see things. She already missed her rabbit eyes. The forward-facing field of view was so overrated when, as a rabbit, she could see almost all around and better in the darkness. Yuki shook her head; that was silly and whiny. She focused on the task, escaping this house of madness.

One hand on the wall to help with balance, she looked left and right. On the wall opposite the door, she saw paintings of fancy people. Around the corridor, jars and other fancy noble things were placed here and there. The wall on the same side she was had other doors to the right and left. She had no idea where to go. When Jenny brought Yuki to her room, she’d hidden the rabbit inside a pile of fabric. Yuki didn’t know where she was in the manor or where the closest exit was.

She took a step to the right. She walked with care, preferring to go slow and avoid noises rather than try to escape faster and cause a mess.

The portraits she could barely see on the wall judged her every step. Their shadowy form casting condemning glares at Yuki for disturbing the place. Yuki ignored her overactive mind. She walked to the end of the corridor. It turned there to her left and continued with a row of closed doors on the right side. She backtracked, old JRPG gamer instincts telling her that, like usual, she picked the wrong path in the dungeon.

Instincts proved correct. Before the passage on the left ended, it opened to a room with stairs, up and down. Yuki pondered which path to take. Up was risky, but if she could find an open area and maybe a feather, she might be able to fly away from here. She wobbled downstairs. There were too many maybes and risks to go up.

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Climbing down was more of a challenge than Yuki wanted to admit. Tiny legs and lack of balance were a danger. She settled to sitting down and going one step at a time, risk-free and noiseless. After a while, she considered if the [Sense] spell could help her find a way out of the manor, but she couldn’t think of anything to sense that would point her to the exit.

Yuki stopped after crossing the first landing and preparing to delve into the next. She sniffed the air. Another rabbit sense that was better than the human counterpart; human noses could barely smell things compared to what her rabbit senses provided. She thought she had imagined it at first, but there it was again. It was that same sickly sweet, cloying smell from before. She couldn’t remember what it reminded her of, but it made her stomach churn. She had to fight back the urge to puke.

Yuki had felt that same smell when she was in Jenny’s room, only there it was faint. She chalked it to anxiety at the time. Maybe because she left the room, the odor from the floor below was more pungent. Worst of all, it also had that same consistency that identified as magic in use.

Yuki continued down the stairs, and the smell grew stronger. She stopped and looked up at the path she came from. Should she go back and try to find another way down? The sound of a slap and a whimper caught her attention. Her heart sped up. It wasn’t the sound of a couple in the throes of passion. Whispers reached her next. Two different voices, one harsh and demanding, another low and suffering. She recognized the second one. It was Jenny’s voice.

What was happening here? Yuki’s mind went to the worst possible scenarios. Was someone attacking Jenny? Should she do something? Could she live with her choice if she didn’t? Worse, the nauseating scent got stronger.

Without realizing what she’d done, she stepped toward the sound. If Jenny was in trouble, Yuki could distract the assailer and, in the confusion, dismiss the spell and turn back into a rabbit. There was no light anywhere; she might be able to escape in the darkness if things turned sour.

She held her breath when she reached the end of the stairs; the scent was so strong now. Immediately to her right, a passage led to the foyer, the same one where the manor entrance was. Yuki scanned the place and then saw it.

The good: Jenny was here, next to the entrance. The bad: She was pinned to the wall, and a man dressed in fancy noble clothes had one hand at her throat. His other hand tried to remove the many layers of clothing Jenny wore.

Jenny looked out of it. Her eyes were unfocused, and a trickle of blood escaped her mouth. She tried to resist the man, but her movements were feeble and unfocused.

The man was disgustingly familiar. He was an older, handsomer version of the stalker. He was something in his late thirties but with the same carefully sculpted face and chiseled jaw. The hair was still immaculately styled.

“Why isn’t the magic working?” The man cursed. It took a moment for Yuki to realize he spoke in English.

Yuki forgot about not attracting attention, she forgot about being small, and she even forgot she had magic at her disposal. In the corner of her eye, a notification blinked, then disappeared. Yuki ignored it. She bounded forward, lack of balance not interfering with her movements. She growled. It sounded like a rubber duck being squeezed.

The man stopped trying to undress Jenny and looked back.

Yuki met the stalker’s eyes, and hate consumed her thoughts. Before the man could react, she was by his side. She chomped down the first place she could reach.