Sheena had a good idea of the place of magicless fairies in fairy society. The lowest of the low, unable to fly, and generally relegated to the most menial jobs. The kind of person you would never, ever want to be. She cried the hot, sugary tears of fairy-kind.
"There, there" said her friend Rachel. "There, there."
Sheena bawled some more when she realized that she had already lost her friend Yukiko, and she would probably lose Rachel too when Rachel realized what a stigma being friends with a lackmagic was.
"We don't have to talk about it now" Rachel said "But there may be a way to get your magic back."
"Really?" said Sheena, for the first time since she lost her magic with a bit of hope in her voice.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow" answered Rachel "For now, sleep."
+++++++++
The next morning the two woke up and enjoyed a frugal meal of brown bread and rosehip tea. After they had finished, Sheena asked her friend what she had meant by a way to get her magic back. She had never heard of a fairy who had lost magic getting it back, but she knew Rachel read all sorts of old books and knew things other fairies didn't.
"Sheena" Rachel began "You've lost your fairy magic forever, but that doesn't mean that you've lost all magic. You can be something other than a fairy."
"What?" asked Sheena. She had never heard of a fairy turning into something else.
"There's an old incantation to cyoc, the spirit of transformation. If you make a sacrifice, the spirit will transform you into another magical being. You won't have fairy magic, but you will have the magic of whatever creature you become."
"But what do I have to sacrifice? Without magic, I have nothing."
"The important thing is that you give up something that you value. Do you like being a woman?"
"Yes, of course."
"You could give up your womanhood, and accept transformation into a male magical creature. The important thing is that it has to be something important to you. You could give up your intelligence, or your memories. You have to show the spirit that you value its gifts, that you are willing to pay a price for them."
"Wow" said Sheena.
"It's a decision only you can make. But make it soon, for the stars are right for the incantation now, and won't be this good for months."