A red-headed red fox doll, with a black and white maid uniform over an impressive bust, and a yellow hair clip. No doubt about it, this was Sasha, Silvey’s friend before the accident, in a state of panic. Silvey took a deep breath (more out of habit than need) and slowly made her way through the crowd of confused maids, toward her old friend.
“Sasha? Are you okay?”
“No! I’m not okay!” The vixen doll cried. “I want to see other places! I want to spend time with my family! I want to do all sorts of things that will not improve Master’s happiness! Worst of all, I want to be friends… with YOU! The one responsible for all of this! Master is no longer the perfect center of my world. Now I have these… distractions! And I can’t even turn to my fellow maids for comfort, because they’re all different from me! All because you wanted to live out your silly, selfish fantasy of us being like anyone else! Are you happy? Are you proud of yourself?”
Silvey frowned. She could see some of the other doll maids staring at her, some in anger, others in sadness, others confused, or seemingly pleading to her for some way to undo it. “I never wanted you to be miserable…”
“You didn’t? Then why’d you ask for us to be normal? To lose our clear purpose in life? It’s NORMAL for people to lack direction, isn’t it?”
“I just… I wanted you to… I…” Silvey struggled to find anything to say. Hearing Sasha, of all people, talking to her like this, was getting to her. And the dozens of conflicted maids standing around her, seeing her as the cause of their newfound frustration, wasn’t helping matters. Did she really make the right decision? Or did she just sacrifice all of the maids’ happiness to try and make them ‘fit in?’ She almost felt like crying, herself. “I’m so sorry, Sasha… “
Sasha’s anger seemed to dissipate slightly. “Silvey… I don’t want you to be sad either…” She clenched her fists. “Ugh! I want to be angry at you for making the trick in Myra’s deal worse for us, but I want to still be friends with you, too. These stupid new desires can’t even agree with themselves!” She took Silvey by the hand. “Come on, and help me look for Madison. I want to make sure she’s okay…”
Silvey, despite her worries, smiled faintly.
+++
Curt was taking a moment to enjoy himself, joining a few of his off-duty maids, as well as David and Hal Foster, in the entertainment room for a few rounds in a racing game, and a chance to casually shoot the breeze.
“The whole gimmick of riding with the motion of the clock’s gears in this course keeps you on your toes,” a college-aged white rabbit said, as she flawlessly maneuvered through the course’s virtual obstacles, “and I’m glad they brought this track back for the seq-hey!” She grit her teeth as she watched David’s character zoom past her, as she was launched skyward. “Frickin’ cobalt shells…”
The little fennec boy just grinned. “Looks like I’m gonna win this time!” The rabbit woman glared at the boy.
“No need to take the game so seriously, Dee,” a camel-girl said. “I mean, you’ve had a pretty solid lead over us in all the other races.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, it’s not really ‘proper’ maid behavior, is it?” The rabbit nodded.
“Eh, you’re off duty,” Curt shrugged, as his car crossed the finish line third.
“Maybe, but it’s the spirit of the thing,” the rabbit said. “Whether its games, or being a maid, if I’m gonna do something, I wanna do it right.”
“Well, everyone knows that these family-friendly multiplayer games are really all about destroying friendships, so you’re doing it right either way,” Curt joked.
“Once this set of races are done, are you gonna play something else?” Hal asked. “Something that’s not for little kids?”
“Wouldn’t your mother be worried about you playing M rated stuff in front of David?” Curt asked. Hal just groaned.
Just as the group’s next race started, Curt’s cell phone went off. “Sorry,” he muttered, pausing the game, “This might be important.”
“No problem,” the camel and bunny girls said.
“Hello? Curt Evenson speaking.”
“Master!” A voice that sounded vaguely familiar to curt yelled. “It’s Helen Fisher! You need to come to the academy right away! It’s a disaster! Chaos! Anarchy! Everything we’ve strived for, up in flames in an instant!”
Curt’s eyes widened. “I’ll be there soon as I can! Just try to calm down and tell me what happened.” He stood up, and put his hand over the receiver. “Sorry to leave in the middle like this, feel free to keep going without me however long you want.” He handed his controller to Hal on the way out. “You can take my place. See you guys later.” And with that, Curt rushed out the door.
Hal shrugged. “Well, if you guys aren’t gonna play anything else, I might as well.”
“Do you promise to let me win?” David asked, his tail wagging.
Hal just smirked, and responded in a monotone, robotic voice. “I’m sorry David. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
David frowned, while the rabbit and camel giggled.
+++
It had taken some effort to find Madison amongst the large crowd, particularly given her size. But that same small stature also immediately confirmed that she was the maid they were looking for when Sasha saw her. Her little sister was no longer a black cat, instead, she was a life-sized doll in the shape of a young doe anthro, covered in bright red “fur” with white speckles on her back, with no uniform to speak of.
“Sasha?” The little girl spoke up looking like she would cry if she could.
“Yeah, it’s me, Madison.” The red fox doll awkwardly hugged her little sister for the first time she could ever remember.
The little doe hugged her sister back tightly. “I’m scared, sis. I wanna go back… I want us all to be like each other again!”
“I do too,” Sasha sighed and patted her sister on the back, trying to calm her.
“I don’t know what to do! I wanna help Master, but I wanna do other things too… But Master needs to come first! Everything feels so weird… I thought getting turned into dolls like this was gonna make it so we’d never have to stop serving Master, not make us even more distracted…”
“We knew what we were getting into...” Sasha glanced back at Silvey. “Well, mostly… We should have seen this coming. Even if we were just focusing on being perfect maids, we’d heard about stories like this.” She sighed. “We made a mistake, now we have to live with it. We’ll just have to try harder to focus on pleasing Master, I guess, and not let this new stuff, or our differences, distract us.”
“It’s hard to do that though!”
“It’s not that hard,” Silvey spoke up. “I’ve had lots of desires that weren’t related to being a perfect maid for Master. And sure, I was never able to do all of them, but it’s not that hard to find time. You’ll get used to it. And you’ll be able to find different kinds of happiness from serving Master. Like right now, I’m happy to finally see you two talking to each other again!” She smiled, and her tail stood up.
“But I’ve never-” Madison was interrupted by a sudden commotion at the other end of the courtyard; various cries of “Master” could be heard, some excited, some relieved, and some filled with dread at the thought of being seen by him like this.
Even after Helen had gotten a hold on herself long enough to explain the situation, Curt still wasn’t quite prepared for the sight in front of him. A giant Myra and seventy-two living plastic dolls stood in the same courtyard the massive reality shift had taken place in, just last weekend. They came in a variety of colors and species, their body types a little more distinct from each other, even if all could still be described as either “busty” or “adorable” in one way or another, and half still wore maid uniforms, though only a few in that group still had the standard black and white set. Curt would have considered the intricate patterns and designs on some of them to be downright inspired, had they been just works of art, and not the vessels for six-dozen distressed souls.
Helen rushed up to Curt the moment she spotted him. Her scales were shifting through a pattern of red and yellow stripes; the chameleon was clearly far too panicked to focus on the “invisibility” trick she’d done when they’d first met. “Thank goodness you’re here, Master! Again, I apologize for having to deliver such troubling news to you, much less ask for your advice on resolving this horrible situation! A true maid’s duty is to ensure her Master’s ease, not heap on more stress, but we need your direction now more than ever.”
Curt looked as more of the maids began to notice he was here, including Myra herself. With a grin, the nine-tailed fox shrank back into a humanoid form, and approached him. “Good evening Master Curtie! Did you come out all this way to admire my handiwork?”
“I guess you could say that. I don’t suppose you could tell me what’s going on? Ms. Fisher told me the basics, but I feel like you might have a few details she missed.”
“It’s not that complicated. The students and teachers gathered here and asked for me to make them able to serve you without the limits of flesh and blood creatures. And I granted their wish; but I simply couldn’t call myself a proper Kitsune if I didn’t add a little twist. They wanted to serve you better, so I decided that their new forms would fulfil another desire of yours.”
“Another desire?”
“There’s no need to hide it, Master Curtie. It was plain as day, even in my short time working here, that you found these maids’ uniformity unsettling, so I decided to add a little diversity.”
Curt frowned slightly. “Right.”
Myra noticed his subtle disappointment. “Did I assume incorrectly, Master Curtie?”
“..You weren’t wrong. Please, go on.”
“Well, as I was about to grant their request, that one pink maid, Silvey, I think it was? She interrupted, and asked me to stop, muttering something about how they weren’t ‘supposed’ to be that way. When I told her I would grant their wish anyway, she requested that I make them ‘normal like her.’ I decided to grant both wishes at once, the twist to hers being making her a living doll just like her friends.”
Helen’s scales flashed red. “I should have known she played a role in this mess. She always seemed out of step.”
“Silvey was caught up in this mess too? Do you know where she is now?”
“Just across the courtyard, by the roses, Master.”
“Thank you, Myra!” Curt rushed in the direction she pointed. The doll maids crowded around him, still eager to serve, even as they tried to adjust to their new state. They cleared out of the way just as quickly when he apologized and told them he was looking for Silvey specifically.
“Master?” Silvey said. Sasha and Madison went quiet as he approached.
“Hi Silvey. Myra told me what happened.”
“Yeah, that…” Silvey sighed. “Did I mess up? I wanted to help my friends to be able to live normally again… But I had forgotten what you had explained about reality changes… This was all they ever knew, and I ripped that away from them. Maybe if I’d tried to call you instead to intervene…”
“It sounds to me like you did the best you could in a situation where you weren’t given any time to think. I’m glad you tried to do the right thing.” Sasha looked surprised at that statement.
“That reminds me, Master! This is my friend Sasha, and her little sister Madison,” Silvey said, before adding in a whisper, “And for the first time since this weekend, they’ve actually been treating each other like sisters.”
“Hi there,” He said to the two maids.
“Hi Master…” Madison said, looking downward.
“Hello Master,” Sasha said, “I’m sorry you have to see us like this… Do our different looks and personalities at least make you more comfortable?”
“Well, yes… But… I’ll just say there’s a little more to it than that. For now, I just want to try and help you and the other maids adjust to your new lives.”
“Um… Then maybe…” Sasha still felt wrong asking Master for something other than a task for her to do. But he did say he wanted to help. “Maybe you could give us some encouragement and advice on dealing with this? I mean, the podium Myra used is still set up.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to give a speech tonight, or anything like that…” He paused, looking back at the crowd. “Then again, this is probably when you all would need it the most, isn’t it? I’ll see what I can do.”
He made his way to the festival platform, and checked the microphone, as all eyes turned toward him.
“Come on, Curt, you’ve drafted a few speeches already, making them fit is just like improv in the high school drama club…” He muttered. “Hello… I’ve heard about what you’ve requested of Myra, and Silvey’s changes to your deal. I know your recent changes have been distressing, and hard to deal with. But, while you might not find it very comforting to think about at first, I had been planning for something like this for you for a long time.”
The crowd murmured nervously.
“Admittedly, I had hoped that the transition would have been more gradual, so you would have time to adjust, and grow into it. But perhaps it’s for the best that Myra and Silvey ended up intervening; I may have spent months, or even years, trying to create a ‘perfect solution’ that didn’t exist.
“That’s not to say I found your service lacking!” he quickly added. “You were clearly as dedicated as could be to living the ideal of… uh… being maids. You always gave it your all, and always looked for other ways to make my life comfortable. I respect and appreciate your hard work, and attitudes to a degree. To a degree…
“But that‘s part of the issue. You were so dedicated to serving me, that you ignored anything that didn’t relate to serving me in some way, even when I had nothing for you to do instead. And, well… I can’t help but worry being so devoted to a single person like that isn’t healthy. Even married couples don’t completely drop their friends and family when they dedicate their life to their husband or wife. Not the healthy ones, anyway.” He shook his head, realizing he was repeating himself. He was glad his audience would hang on his every word regardless.
“What if I died tomorrow, and my last words were that I was satisfied with all of your work, and that you would never need to serve me or my family again? What would you do, after the mourning was over, if something like that happened, before you had been changed like this?” He looked out over the audience. All the maids, even Myra and Silvey, seemed to shiver or lower their heads at the mention of his hypothetical death, but that was nothing compared to the stunned stares many of the former “Blank Maids” wore, when they thought about a last request like that.
One western dragoness doll, a full grown adult, (her original age didn’t matter for her appearance when she wasn’t a ‘real’ dragon,) her dark green “scales” covered in ornate, glowing yellow runes, spoke up after a period of silence. “I think we would have tried to find other jobs to keep ourselves fed and sheltered, until retirement Master.”
“And?”
“Nothing else, Master.”
“And what would you have done in that situation if Myra had granted your wish exactly like you wanted, and you no longer had to worry about eating or sleeping, being too hot or too cold… What would you do with the rest of your lives, then?”
Complete silence.
“I’m not trying to shame you. I know it was simply your nature at the time, and again, I appreciate your love and dedication! But I don’t want it to be at the cost of your purpose in life outside of me. But if that happened now, what would you do with yourselves?”
There was a long period of silence, the maids hating to think about life without Master, but after some consideration, a few hands raised.
“I guess I’d try to make music,” said a chubby blue wolf doll in a cyan dress.
“I’d try to become friends with some of the maids I’ve worked with at the mansion,” said a buxom purple bear doll.
“I would probably start applying to work for charity,” a petite blue jay doll said.
“Those are all good answers. And you don’t even have to wait for me to die to start. In fact, with your new bodies, you’re actually in a great position to try lots of new things, and find yourself a purpose for when you aren’t serving me. If you want, I can try to arrange it so you’ll be able to work when you’d normally be sleeping, so you’d have all day to explore your own interests. Without worrying about eating or sleeping, you have more time for me, and for yourselves. Or if you like, I can try to pair your schedules with other maids that share your interests, and can help you adjust to your new independance. The transition will be difficult, but I will do everything I can to help make it as smooth as possible for you.
“I’m also looking into reforming the school curriculum and policies. I think that when it encourages maid to go to such extreme lengths to show their devotion to their masters, incidents like this, where maids ultimately harm themselves, will be inevitable.”
‘Was there anything else?’ He thought to himself. “Oh, and while I won’t ask you to forgive Silvey Bell if you don’t feel ready, I DO ask that none of you scapegoat her for this.” He sighed, and tried to think of a good conclusion. “I know that all of you have the ability to do wonderful things, and I know you have the ability to handle this challenge with the dignity and care of a true maid. I have faith in all of you!” He paused awkwardly. “Thank you for listening.” The maids all bowed or curtsied to him, and he quietly left the stage. Looking over the crowd, he could see a number that seemed to look a little more comfortable, but seemingly just as many looked just as worried as before, or even more so.
He sighed. This wasn’t gonna be easy, but it was a start.
+++
Curt wanted to spend more time trying to help the “Doll Maids” individually, but unlike them, he still needed to sleep. After Silvey and Curt had spent over an hour trying to comfort some of them, the two headed back to the mansion. Many of the other maids affected by Myra’s “miracle” had done the same, or returned to their academy dorms, while the teachers returned to their homes.
Silvey stepped into her pink bedroom, and after showering and changing into a nightgown, she laid down, less because she was tired, and more out of habit. She was perfectly still for about half an hour, not only not feeling tired, but not feeling restless, either. Well, not physically, at least. Her mind was still all over the place. Even if she and Master Curt felt it was better for the doll maids to be like this in the long run, (Curt wasn’t going to be around forever, and they would almost certainly outlive him like this, much as the thought filled her with dread,) seeing her fellow maids’ dismay at losing both their sense of self, and the comfort of their unity, made her wish there had been some other way.
As she lay there, she found she could willingly “zone out” for a while, temporarily inducing something like sleep, in that she wasn’t completely conscious for a period of time. After her first thirty minutes of this, a little bit of curiosity wiggling in the back of her mind made her want to test something. She got out of bed, stood up perfectly straight, and then willed herself to “zone out” again. Coming to again after thirty minutes, she found she was in the exact same upright position, and didn’t feel any different.
‘Guess that’s one way to avoid boredom if I ever have a lot of free time…’ she thought to herself. Then her maid nature kicked in. “Then again… Everybody wishes they had a little more free time. Why waste it pretend-sleeping when I could do other things?” She looked over at her sewing kit. ‘Might as well get a few commissions done early.’
Silvey worked without stopping throughout the night, fishing up one costume that had already been close to complete, starting AND completing a second, and starting up a third before she noticed the time. She quickly changed into her pink maid uniform, and went down to the dining hall. It vaguely dawned on her that some of the other maids were giving her odd looks, but she was in too much of a rush to get to breakfast before her shift started to focus on that.
That was, until she heard an excited “Oh my gosh!” behind her, and felt two left arms grab hers.
“I don’t believe it! You’re actually made of plastic! And you’re moving, too! Skyla didn’t tell me about this spell!” Silvey turned around to confirm that the voice did indeed belong to a certain yellow spider woman she’d met during one of her shifts earlier that week.
“Marceline!” Silvey cried. “Personal space!”
“Oh, right! Right!” She let go and gave a little bow. “I apologize, Silvey, such behavior is unbecoming of a proper maid.” Her formal behavior ended the same time her bow did. “I got a little over-excited again. I knew Skyla could turn people into animals or statues, but I didn’t know she could make a LIVING doll! Oooh! What’s it feel like? Did she give you mental changes too?”
Silvey stepped back. “Marceline, please.”
Marceline blinked, and stopped herself. “Sorry, Silvey. Got carried away. I’m just really curious, is all.”
“It’s alright. And yeah, I did get turned into a living doll. Along with most of the academy. But it was Myra that did it, not Skyla… it’s a bit of a long story. I’ll tell you about it over breakfast.” Then it hit her. “Which I won’t actually eat. Huh. That’ll take some getting used to.” And that was just what it was, 'getting use to', an adjustment in routine, she felt no angst or frustration at not being able to have another pink strawberry milkshake, it simply was. And even this not bothering her didn't really bother her. She had work to do after all.
Silvey sat next to Marceline at the table, explaining the events of the previous night to her, and trying to ignore the occasional stares directed at her and the other doll maids from the rest of the staff.
“Oh man… What a huge waste,” Marceline muttered as she finished swallowing her scrambled eggs. “Those girls were like… The ideal of maidhood personified! They were just about perfect. Now they’re just like the rest of us.”
Silvey sighed. “I guess, but there’s more to life than that.”
“Well… yeah… But still, Master’s gotta take priority. And they had that down to a science. It was impressive.”
“Yeah, Master does take priority,” Silvey said without a second thought. ‘But is it really that impressive when serving Master was literally the only thing they could think about?’ is how she wanted to follow it up, but she knew she’d be the only one at the table who would see anything unnatural about it.
“So… If you don’t mind me asking…” Marceline continued, “how DOES it feel to be a living doll? When I got turned into a statue, I could still see and hear, but I couldn’t really taste or smell anything. But I could feel every part of me, even the base that was added on for balance. Can you feel through your hair now? Like the hair itself had nerves?”
Silvey blinked. “Well, yes, but… you were turned into a statue?”
“Yeah, it was actually pretty relaxing, would definitely recommend trying it for at least a little bit if you ever get the chance,” the spider woman said with complete sincerity. “But can you still smell and taste?”
“Well, I can still smell, but it’s a lot easier to ignore now. But as for taste…” She looked at Marceline’s plate. “Well, I know I don’t need to eat. I can’t, actually. But I could try tasting- wait! It would be unbecoming of a maid to put food in her mouth just to spit it back out again, or expect others to eat what I tasted... even if I can’t get saliva on it. But not having anyone eat it after I’d touched it would be a waste of food…”
As Silvey considered her conundrum, her cell phone gave a text message alert, as did many others.
“Must be a message from Skyla,” Marceline figured. “Probably about last night.”
True enough, it was. The message explained the sudden change to most of the academy’s students and teachers, and alerted select maids to check their email for further instructions.
Following the instructions in an email specifically for her, Silvey excused herself, and made her way to the parlor, where she found Curt, Skyla, Meredith, and a few of the other “supervisor” maids waiting around folding tables that had been set up as desks.
“Good, you made it,” Curt said, “We figured the best way to help the maids from the academy right off the bat would be to restore some sense of order for them by arranging a new schedule for them.”
“Yeah,” Skyla groaned, “Grandma gave me a big mess to clean up.”
“Well, my boss wasn’t too happy about me calling in sick for this, either,” Curt said, “but we gotta take this seriously. Which brings me back to you, Silvey. Do you want to help us with this? Either with the paperwork aspects, or talking one-on-one with them about how to best work around their class schedules and new priorities? Or even just offering them emotional support while they wait for their turn to discuss their schedule?”
Silvey nodded firmly. “Absolutely.”
+++
The rescheduling had been an all day affair, with Curt, Skyla, and Silvey in particular staying up far later than they usually would have to get the last few dolls taken care of, after the rest of the supervisors had clocked out at Curt’s insistence. The process left all three feeling exhausted the next day, (emotionally exhausted, in Silvey’s case, from seeing so many of her fellow students struggling,) but Curt still trudged off to work, thanking God that it was Friday.
Skyla, meanwhile, had already taken the day off, this Friday being the time Myra had scheduled her and Vincent’s trip to Japan. After eating a late breakfast, she headed toward her grandmother’s room.
“Hello, Skyla,” one of the maids, a cat woman with lavender fur, an older style dress, and a split tail-tip, greeted her. “Looking forward to your little vacation?”
“Oh yes,” Skyla nodded, “I’ve wanted to go for years! I’m especially looking forward to seeing Akihabara.”
“Akihabara?” The maid furrowed her brow, then seemed to remember. “Ah, do you mean Akibagahara? I remember you telling me about buying your first home computer there, back when they were the newest technology.”
Skyla nearly froze, not expecting another reminder of her new, longer life. But she’d gotten better at improvising over the past two weeks. “Oh, yes, well, they call it Akihabara now, and it’s morphed from being Japan’s electronics center to being a hub for Otaku. I’ve really wanted to see how it’s changed over the years.”
“I see. Well, I hope you have fun out there with your brother, Skyla.”
“Thanks Sophie,” Skyla said, having finally recalled the feline maid’s name, “hope you have a good day too.”
Sophie simply nodded as Skyla went on her way.
Vincent was already waiting when the head maid arrived in her grandmother’s room.
“Ah, Doodlebug, perfectly punctual, as any good maid should be!” Myra smiled. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, after yesterday, I could use a chance to unwind,” Skyla said, trying not to sound like she blamed her grandma for it.
“Ah, then you’ll really appreciate this!” Myra produced three small flasks filled with a blue-tinted liquid, handing one to each of her grandchildren, before removing the lid from her own.
“What’s this?” Vincent asked, examining the flask.
“A basic sleeping potion,” Myra explained. “Drink the whole thing, and within five minutes you’ll be asleep for eight hours.”
“Why are you giving it to us before our trip then?” Vincent asked. “I don’t want to fall asleep once we get there.”
“That’s exactly WHY I’m giving it to you! With the time zone differences, if we traveled right now, we’d arrive just before midnight, and if we arrived in the morning with your usual sleep schedules, you’d be dozing off in hours. With this, we’ll be feeling rested and refreshed just as the sun is rising in the land of the rising sun.” She conjured two extra beds in her room.
“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that.” Vincent shrugged and downed his potion, Myra and Skyla following soon after.
+++
Curt clocked out, relieved that the weekend had finally arrived. While he knew in the back of his mind that there were likely to be more issues in helping the doll maids adjust to “normal” lives, at least for a couple of days it wouldn’t be on top of double checking his code. Or working next to a naked mouse man. He quickly tried to get his train of thought elsewhere as he headed to his car, remembering his other arrangements for the day.
He arrived at the theater without incident, telling Meredith that she could drive home and take the rest of the day off. Not seeing Vicky around, he decided to get in line to pick up tickets while he waited. As he slowly moved with the line to the ticket booth, he felt a pair of furry arms wrap around him from behind, and a vulpine snout kissing his cheek.
Curt turned to see Vicky smiling at him as she let go and stood by his side in line. “Hi Master! How was your day?”
“Not too bad. I’m glad to have some time to hang out with you again, especially after yesterday. How about yours?”
“It was the usual, pretty boring. Had a few more packages that needed signing, so I actually got to talk to a few people, even if for just a little bit.”
“You don’t like your job?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s stable and has good benefits, plus, you did say to keep it up.”
“Is there a job you’d rather be doing?”
Vicky laughed. “Oh, IS there a job I’d rather be doing, Master? A job that offers room and board, and let me work with all sorts of different people, while keeping close to my best friends? Not to mention being less of a pain in bad weather? I wonder if a dream job like that is out there...”
“Heh, I guess I should have known.” Curt chuckled.
“But seriously Master, don’t worry, I’m happy where I am, and I trust your judgement.”
“Well… thanks, but I kinda…” Curt wasn’t sure what to say. He had originally dismissed her and told her to keep up with her usual job because he felt completely weirded out when the gun had actually worked, and had no idea how to handle the situation. And somehow, of all the things that had changed through the reality warping mess that had followed over the next two weeks, that command, of all things, had remained a constant. Who knew what his past self’s reason for not having her on his official staff was in this iteration.
“...I think my judgement may have lapsed there. For some reason, I thought you’d be happier with your old job. If you want, I can arrange for you to join the mansion staff.”
Vicky looked surprised, if confused, though the confusion soon gave way to a wide smile. “I’d love that Master!” She hugged him tight. “It’ll be great to work with Anna and Skyla and Sophie, and to get to know the rest of the maids better, and to help you with whatever you need whenever you need it, and-”
“Next in line, please,” Came the voice from the ticket booth.
Curt and Vicky quickly noticed there was nobody in front of them, and a few irritated people behind them.
“Er, let’s get going,” Curt mutterd.
“Two tickets for Mothman: Multiverse Mayhem, please,” Vicky said.
Curt paid for the tickets, and the two headed into the lobby.
“Sir!” An employee called out to him. “No weapons allowed on the premises!”
Curt gave a confused look, then realized the handle of the ray gun was sticking out of his pocket. He carefully pulled it out and showed it to the employee. “Oh! This isn’t a weapon. Sorry about that. If it’s an issue, I can leave it back in the car though.”
Vicky blinked in confusion.
The employee cocked an eyebrow as he gazed at what looked like a cheap plastic laser pistol, then glanced up at Curt. “Eh, go on through.”
“What’d you bring that for?” Vicky asked quietly.
“This? Oh, it’s the heirloom the kids took last weekend! I’ve been hanging on to it kind of out of paranoia of losing it again.” He shoved it in his pocket again. “We should probably get going, the movie will be starting soon.”
Vicky looked a little sceptical, but didn’t press any further, following her Master into the theater.
Even in the darkness of the theater, Curt could see quite a few maids in attendance alongside the human moviegoers; rachel the wolf and a couple of the dragoness toddlers from the talent show, were among those he could recognize. He also saw a phoenix woman with an infant unicorn in her arms, and a fox maid by her side, a black widow spider maid reclining (somehow) in one of the front seats, and a pair of seven-year-old jr. maids, one a rattlesnake, the other a butterfly in a cute little dress. A few waved when they saw him, before looking back to the screen.
Curt took a seat beside Vicky, who put an arm around his shoulder. Not wanting to seem distant to what should have been a close friend, he draped an arm over hers as well.
+++
Back at the mansion, Silvey’s classes and work hours had both finished for the day, and the pink cat maid was ready to spend some time with her friends. She approached Sasha’s room, and gently knocked on the door.
“Come in,” came the voice on the other end.
Opening the door, Silvey found Sasha and Madison standing awkwardly in the center of the room.
“Um, hi Silvey,” Sasha said.
“Hi Sasha. What are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out what to do,” Madison said, looking down at her feet.
“We’ve been given periods to ‘do what we want to do’ by Master,” Sasha added, “but serving Master is one of those things, and, well...”
“But I think what he wants for you is to take that time for yourselves. You were talking about wanting to try new things; why not go for it?”
“Yes,” Madison spoke up, “but what if he needs us to do something for him he didn’t plan on?”
“Come on,” Silvey said, “can you guys think of even one time where Master asked you to do something for him off the clock, before all this?”
“Well…” Sasha said, after some time, “one time, he was taking notes about something in the hall outside my room, and asked me if I had an extra pen he could borrow. What if something like that were to happen again, and we weren’t there for him?” The red fox doll looked as if the world could end.
Silvey’s nature as a maid caused that thought to fill her with panic for a moment as well, but she quickly caught herself. “Master has planned around things like that. And besides, he’s out today, anyway; you can’t help him by just sitting around here.”
“Yes, but…” Sasha trailed off, trying to think of some counterargument.
“Madison,” Silvey turned to the little doe doll, “what sort of things would you like to try?”
“Well…” She put her hand on her chin. “I kinda want to paint.”
Silvey grabbed Madison’s hand. “Well then, I know where we can get you some paint and brushes! Let’s go!” She then grabbed Sasha’s hand, and began pulling them both out of their room.
“Wait, what are you bringing me along for?” Sasha stammered.
“You said you wanted to spend time with your family the first night after you changed. Why not bond with your little sister while she tries a new hobby? You might like it too!” And with that, the Silvey dragged the two doll maids through the door.
+++
After the credits had rolled and the obligatory post-credits scene played, Curt and Vicky stepped out into the lobby. It had been a bit odd to Curt, after spending a week in a town with a large anthro population, to watch a movie with an all human cast. Even the title character had simply been a man with moth themed powers, rather than an actual moth man. He thought he might have seen an anthro in one of the crowd shots, but the fast paced action of the superhero flick meant he couldn’t get a good look. Still, he realized it shouldn’t have been that surprising, given how small a number even four hundred was in terms of global population.
“Well, that was fun,” Vicky said “I loved how they gave the animation an old-school comic book look.”
“Yeah, I’m glad I got to see it with you,” Curt nodded.
Curt overheard some of the kids who had been watching the movie talking with their friends.
“When I grow up,” a young boy said to the butterfly Jr. Maid, “I wanna be just like mothman, and go flying around in a cool suit punching bad guys! And you could be my sidekick!”
Curt felt himself reaching for the ray gun, but thought better of it. Tempting as it might be to grant the kid’s wish in a roundabout way, he didn’t want more kids thinking of themselves as servants. Or at least, not for something QUITE that folivorous.
“What a cute bunch of kids.” Vicky smiled, and put an arm around him. “So, wanna head to the mall and pick up something to eat?”
“Oh, sure.” He nodded, walking alongside her as they left the lobby crossed the street.
“I’d honestly love to work in the mansion if you can arrange it,” Vicky said, going back to their conversation before the movie. “Not just because I get to work for you, but also ‘cause getting to work and talk with friends will be a breath of fresh air compared to the post office. So many things there are automated nowadays, I barely get to see a co-worker, much less chat with them.”
“What about the people you’re delivering to?”
“Well, you do get the occasional excited kid, or a passing compliment or ‘thank you,’ especially from my fellow maids, but a lot of times, people are just indifferent to you, if you get to see them at all. I guess it is better than retail, though. Nobody is really mad when they get their mail.”
The two entered the mall near the food court, and made their way to one of the counters.
“We’d like two chicken sandwiches, please,” Vicky ordered, “And give one some extra tomato and pickles, and a little less onions.”
Curt was a bit surprised to see her not only order for him, but also have even his most minor preferences memorized. Just another reminder of how long they’d known each other in this reality.
The two took their meals and sat down across from each other at a small table. “By the way Master, When’s your next charity event?” Vicky asked, her voice raised slightly to overcome the constant noise of the food court. “I’m still bummed I had to miss the last one thanks to my work schedule.”
“I think the next one’s in about a month actually. It’s a little festival we’ll be holding on the estate, with the proceeds going to fund the local homeless shelters. Some of the higher up maids were talking with me about getting one or two more entertainment acts for the kids, but we haven’t decided on what yet.”
“Heh, maybe this time I’ll be able to help out a little.”
Curt nodded, while doing his best to hide his frustration. He wanted to be able to learn about what kind of person Vicky was, what her interests were, and what her life was like. But at the same time, he “had known” Vicky for years in this version of reality, and unlike Danielle, where they had recently spent some time apart and he could be excused for trying to get to know her “again,” Vicky was now someone he hung out with weekly at minimum. How on Earth could he ask her about anything without there being some risk of asking for information that he should already know, making it seem like he didn’t pay attention to her at all?
But despite his attempts to hide his feelings, Vicky could see right through him. “Is something bothering you, Master?”
“Yeah, it’s just… It’s complicated.”
“How so? Is it something that’d take a while to explain? I’ve got time. Are you worried I just wouldn’t understand it?”
“I mean kind of, but there’s a bit more to it…”
“Look Master, there’s no need to be scared, I won’t judge. If there’s something you want to say, just say it!”
“I just want to know about you! Er, I want to hear your life story.” He quickly corrected himself. “From your perspective, that is.”
“Oh you want to hear me talk about myself?” Vicky laughed. “Well, it’s a little weird, but they do say if ask a person about themselves, you’re discussing their favorite topic, so who am I to say no?
“I was the younger sister in a happy little middle class family, and my earliest memory is of a weird dream I had when I was three, where I came into my room and saw a dog digging through my clothes drawer.”
“But you don’t normally wear clothes.”
“Like I said, it was weird. Anyway, when I got to preschool, I met you for the first time. And when I saw you, I can remember thinking; ‘He seems nice! I wanna help him out!' So we built a big block castle together, and when we went home, I couldn’t wait to go back and see you again! It’s something else, thinking back about how simply that little life-changing decision came to me, but I don’t regret it.” She smiled softly. “Anyway, we’d always ask our parents to see each other a bunch after that, which I’m sure must have driven them crazy after a while.
“Speaking of my parents, they were always nice, even if they were usually pretty busy. They were always impressed with how clean I was. It even made Amber jealous sometimes, but I knew mom and dad loved us both equally.
“At around age seven, I finally began to grasp all the stuff I was learning in Sunday School, and I made another life changing decision for a different master. It was also one I don’t regret.
“As I grew up, I liked dolls, but I’d also started getting interested in some guys stuff, too like superheroes. I never got as into the comics like a few guys I’d known, but I still liked to watch the saturday morning cartoons about them just as much as the ones about little ponies."
Curt was forced to silently admit, he'd like the cartoons about the ponies as a child too!
“When we were eleven, I remember I started to feel split. I was feeling like I really wanted to branch out and make a lot of friends, but at the same time I didn’t want to leave you behind, and you were always more of the quiet type. Then, one day at summer camp, you told me something that’s stuck with me for a long time: ‘never forget to include what makes you happy too.'”
“Heh, I remember trying to come up with inspirational sounding stuff like that as a kid.” Curt chuckled.
“Well, it inspired me, at least. I heard through maid-net about the speech you gave the Academy maids. Poor girls, I know Silvey was only trying to help them, and Myra...is Myra, but it's still sad to see that ideal... go away. Truth be told, I...I was almost jealous of them a little, how much they could devote themselves to others... But then like I said, you told me, just like you finally told them... for Heaven's sake Master, PLEASE be a little more assertive!"
"I'll... I'll try."
"Anyway, at the time, it took me a little to figure what you meant, so I just asked you! See? That's how you do it. Heh! I said how you being happy was what made me happy... You told me how you couldn't be everywhere, I couldn't be everywhere, you wouldn't always need something, and if I spent every moment trying to help you when you didn't need help, I'd drive myself crazy. So I had to have other things to make me happy.
"I was able to hang out with Skyla when you weren't around. I didn't know she was really four-hundred years old or something, she acted like any typical kit when I met her. There was Susan, she spent a couple years as a child actor, she could be a supermodel if she wants, make you a fortune, but instead she takes jobs that let her stay close to her friends, which we know is what you REALLY want, that is understanding you! She takes jobs because they're reliable. Baby sat for Eva a couple of times. I'm a failure as a fox, I could never catch that rabbit! There's also Herold, we were in the same homeroom class in first grade, he loved talking with me, he was a genius,which is likely why he got that well paying job in Europe, met the love of his life, and never moved back here. And Minnie, no she wasn't a mouse anthro, she was a good friend, and then she moved to the other side of the country when we entered high school. And Martin, great guy, he had so many ideas on how to improve society... then he joined that cult I never heard from him again. Serving you still made me happy, so I thought, why not serve others? So I volunteered more and more at church and after school when I could.
"Annnnnnd, puberty finally hit me... Susan was an early bloomer, and kept blooming! But she was always encouraging and nurturing, she'd make a great mother if she ever wanted to. And I could tell you about my first period Master, but I have the feeling you'd rather not be scarred for life, heh."
"Thank you for not sharing!"
"Welcome! And, well, the normal stuff, did some 'experiments' in my bedroom by myself. I started seeing guys in new ways. And well..." Vicky fell silent for a moment. "I... might have totally gotten the hots for you... But... then you introduced me to Dave and the others as 'like a second sister!' And... that might have been the end of that."
Curt thought, 'She said 'might.'’
"And... Skyla showed off her magic for the first time, and made our pretend games much more real... and you said she was 'totally cool!' And then you met Danielle, you also didn't see her like a sister.
"In collage, I found, well, my beliefs were, well, kinda talked down to, like I was a child playing pretend, I tried to just muddle through it... Then ... " Vicky shuddered. "There was a fire, my family's house was a wreck, our insurance was a mess so we had to rebuild it ourselves, so I used it as an excuse just to drop out... I was able to scrape together a job as a mail-vixen, I figured it would be a great way to meet people... didn't work out like I thought it would... When you came into your wealth, Skyla said she liked having a maid in the mail service, a vixen on the inside. And if Skyla thought it was a good thing I figured it would be good for you too. And that’s the way it’s been since.”
“I wish I could have helped out."
"Master, I shouldn't likely tell you this, but I feel you deserve some honesty, sometimes we DO go a little behind your back, maybe, a little, sometimes, perhaps, if we think collectively it'll be better for you. I agreed with Skyla that having a vixen in the mail service would be useful to you. In particular with me as part of the maid district. It helps keep things stable, consistent, orderly, keep things running smooth. Too bad the whole 'automation' thing makes it not as good an idea as it was. But I think my sister maids like seeing one of us deliver our mail. Makes things more homely. You thought I liked being a mail vixen? Don't deny it, I can tell. But if you're going to offer me a chance to be home with you, I'll happy take it."
'At least that's one mystery solved,' Curt thought.
“If you don’t mind my asking…” Vicky said a little more quietly. “How did things work out with Danielle and Skyla?”
“Oh yeah… Danielle took it just fine. I’m still kind of surprised by it, honestly. But yeah, I’m dating both now.” He was still even more surprised by the fact that his own mother apparently had no problem with her son potentially marrying, much less “just” dating multiple women in this timeline, but he didn’t want to bring that up.
“Heh heh, I’m sure hearing that you’re open to polygamy will give a lot of maids who were worried about their chances hope.”
Curt paled at the thought. “Eh, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“I’m not implying you’d just sleep with any girl that offered, Master. I know you’re not the type. I’ll admit, I’m still a little surprised you even decided to date both of them at once. But I also know that you're the type to makes others happy even at your own expense sometimes." Vicky giggled and put a paw on his hand with a grin. "You'd make a great maid yourself in another universe, like that movie."
Curt wanted to say something to that, feeling flustered, but he couldn't deny what Vicky had just said... WAS HE really all that different from these maids who were willing to sacrifice THEIR happiness for his, when it was his happiness that gave them the most of theirs?... And thinking about it, from what the ray gun's message had said, it was likely there WAS another reality out there where he WAS one of the maids... He wondered what the world where trigger happy Scott had gotten the ray gun instead of himself was like... His imagination came unbidden,
-
"Oh Master, please don't stop!" The lizard maid said as she wrapped her tail around Scott's legs.
-
'Maybe some things ARE better left unknown!' Curt thought quickly.
“Honestly, that’s part of what makes you so great to work for,” Vicky continued, “And part of why I’d hoped we could…” Her voice trailed off slightly, as she paused awkwardly. Her eyes looked around the room, then her ears suddenly perked up. “Oh, it’s nearly eight! I’ve got to get back to my job. Sorry to ask to leave so soon, Master.”
“What could they need you to deliver at eight at night?”
“Overnight stuff, they tend to come in late.”
“Okay, I’ll walk you to your car if you like,” Curt said, picking up his tray of food, and dumping it in one of the trash cans.
As they went through the food court, Curt could hear some of the employees grumbling behind the counter at one of the stalls nobody had lined up for.
“I just don’t get it man,” one guy muttered to his co-workers. “Those maids at the Evenson place get great benefits, good pay for what they do, and rooms in the mansion even! And here we are, just struggling to get by. How come there’s such a huge difference? It’s not like being a maid is rocket science or anything.”
“What really surprises me,” a woman behind the counter said, “is just how much they love their job. My friend Beth works there part time, and whenever I ask her about it, she never has any complaints; she’s always got something nice to say about her managers, and the Evenson guy himself.”
“Yeah, it seems like a dream job,” Another young man said. “Even when they don’t work in the mansion itself, they’re fine with whatever. I’d kill for a job like that.”
“Same here,” the woman said.
“Me t- Oh crud, he’s right there!” the first man whispered as he looked toward Curt. “Hope he didn’t hear any of that. Act natural.”
Curt smiled to himself. If they really wanted it, there was no harm in granting their wish. “Actually, Vicky, hang on a second, there’s something I need to take care of.”
“Sure Curt, if you say so,” she said, looking toward the entrance.
He pulled the gun out of his pocket, prompting odd looks from his targets-to-be. He ignored them, and set everything but awareness to “Target’s preference.” Three pulls of the trigger, three bolts of lightning, and three transformations followed. He slipped the gun back into his pocket and watched.
All three stood straight up, smiles on their faces. All three’s feet grew into longer, digitigrade paws, little pads forming on the soles, and retractable claws growing from their toes. Their legs became lithe and slender, the guys’ hips expanded, and their waists slimmed down slightly. The guy’s chests expanded subtly, while their shoulders narrowed, and their facial features softened.
Each one began to grow brightly colored, almost sparkling fur; one former man gained a bright green fur, the woman red, and the final man a baby blue. All of their faces stretched forward into short, feline muzzles, with cute little fangs, and pink, triangular noses. Their hair seemed to be absorbed by their fur, leaving them “bald” as their ears became triangular and moved up the sides of their head. Their pupils narrowed in the malls bright light, while their eyes changed to match their fur color.
Their uniforms changed to match as well, the logo changing from the chain restaurant it had once been to “Penelope’s Pastries” with a little mention of “Evenson Estate” below it. Their aprons gained frills, and their hairnets now looked like the lace headbands so many other maids wore. As the uniforms changed to match their fur colors, they expanded down into mid-length dresses, with little holes in the back to let the tail through.
The changes over, all three waved to Curt and Vicky with wide smiles.
“Hi Master! Hi Vicky!” The green one, whose name tag read Penelope, said.
“Hope you two enjoyed your dinner!” The red one, Audrey, said.
“Feel free to come again some time! Have a wonderful evening, you two!” The blue one, Stacy,said.
“Thanks,” Curt said. “You too.”
Vicky smiled as they made their way out. “Always great to see more of the maids around town. It feels like we’re all part of a big happy family.”
Hearing Vicky sounding so glad to be around fellow maids, almost made Curt forget about his reservations and not wanting to be the center of attention, and consider zapping every viable target in town, making a pristine, tidy, kind and loving community of maids. A place where everyone knew each other, helped each other, trusted each other… He shook his head. Maybe that was a little too idealistic. Still, it was a tempting thought.
+++
Curt was a bit disappointed he didn’t have more time to spend with Vicky. After thanking Cassidy for going out of her way to pick him up after their dinner, he made his way upstairs.
Feeling something rubbing against his leg, he looked down and saw his sister’s black and white cat purring beside him.
“Hey there Noni.” He crouched down and pet her. “You’re lucky you don’t have to keep re-learning stuff. Even if you did forget, all you’d need to do is sniff out the new location of your food bowl. Or meow at people until they find it for you.”
“Enjoying some quality time with another young lady, Master?” Teased a familiar voice behind him.
Curt turned around to see Sophie standing there, surprisingly close considering he hadn’t heard a sound besides Noni’s purring. “Wha- Hi Sophie! Heh… All kinds of cats sneaking up on me tonight. How are you doing?”
“I’m feeling well, Master. Not much has changed for me… Though… it seems like that might not be the case for everyone…” The bakeneko smirked.
Curt blinked. ‘Is she…? No, couldn’t be.’ He thought to himself. “What do you mean?”
“I overheard some of the Jr. maids talking about their weekend while I was working. They said they saw some interesting things taking shape around town. They also talked about how much they loved the gifts you gave them.”
“Gifts?” Curt asked standing up. He did his best to keep a poker face, but it was seeming less and less likely that her choice of words was a simple coincidence. “What gifts?”
“You don’t remember, Master? Odd. One of the girls talked about how you granted her wish for a pony just last Saturday. In a way she’d never thought about. I don’t think I’d forget giving a gift like that.”
“I see…” Curt looked Sophie in the eyes. “Would you mind if we continued this conversation in my office?”
“Of course not, Master.” Sophie bowed her head politely, and followed Curt, sitting down in front of his desk as he close the door behind them.
“It sounds like you’ve been pretty attentive, lately.” Curt took a seat as well.
“Oh I happen to overhear quite a few things, and some of them just stick out a little more than others; Skyla, a prodigy in shapeshifting magic, even by Kitsune standards, asking her grandmother for a refresher course. Those children I mentioned, who claimed to have been transformed, and seen others transform, but don’t have a hint of magic on them. On the same day, the head maid suddenly runs off, and afterward both she and our Master suddenly start looking at the maids from the Academy with not just a sense of unrest, but of guilt? Silvey Bell, the nail that stuck out at the Academy, is said by the other changed maids to have altered their deal to ‘make them like they were before,’ even when their unchanging nature was previously considered one of their most recognizable traits since birth. And of course, there was the human who claimed to be responsible for the existence of a creature more than eighteen times his age the night his head maid ran away.”
“Wait, were you eavesdropping on us that night?”
“I apologize Master,” she gave a sincere bow. “While it is a habit of mine, as I am sure you can tell by now, that night, I did it only out of concern for Skyla. She has been one of my closest friends for decades, and I wanted to make sure she would be alright. I would not have purposefully listened in on one of your private conversations, otherwise.” She lifted her head. “Though I do wish to congratulate the two of you for finally getting together, after seven years of uncertainty.”
“Er, thanks. And I forgive the eavesdropping.”
“You’re welcome Master.” Sophie took a breath. “Of course, my friendship with Skyla leads to the most upsetting of the signs something was wrong. All the previous signs, on their own, would simply be minor oddities, but humans do strange things all the time. Together, these little coincidences formed a pattern, but what stood out more than anything was that after that night… Skyla… I could tell she didn’t recognize me. She can be a good liar when she wants to be; she wouldn’t be a kitsune if she weren’t, but I’ve been with her long enough to see some of the signs. When I greeted her in the days after, I waited for her to ‘surprise’ her best friend with the news. And waited. And waited… At first I brushed it off as her being lost in her own little world after whatever had troubled her that day, on top of your new relationship with her. But as the week went on, it was harder to deny. She treated me like any other maid: a cherished sister and valuable worker, but not a lifelong friend and confidant.”
She took another deep breath. “Master, I want to know what’s going on. Please. Do you have some sort of power to change people? To alter their memories?”
“Sophie… I…” Curt fidgeted slightly, not sure what to say at first. “Well… you were clever enough to figure out this much, against all the odds, so I’d say you deserve to know the truth on that merit alone… but I also want to say I’m sorry about what’s happened to Skyla… well… from your perspective.”
“What do you mean by that, Master?”
“It’s gonna take a lot of explaining,” Curt said as he began to pull something from his pocket, “but you remember the email that was sent out last Saturday, about the Banks children taking a family heirloom and running around town with it?”
“Vaguely. I’ll admit, I’m not in the habit of checking email as often as I should in this day and age.”
“Well this...” he pulled out a plastic, 50’s looking “ray gun” painted bright red. “Is that ‘heirloom,’ and the cause of many of the strange things you’ve been looking into.” He handed it across the desk to her.
“A toy?” She stared at the item intently. While she didn’t have an x-ray vision spell to check the inside, the outside looked perfectly mundane. The trigger didn’t even do anything if she pulled it. And she couldn’t detect even a hint of magic in it either.
“As the friend of a Kitsune, I’d imagine you’d know appearances can be deceiving. But when I press the little button on the back…” He reached over and pressed a small button. When he did, a hologram suddenly flashed up in front of Sophie’s eyes.
“Caution: Unit has been activated by the registered owner of the gun while in the hands of a maid not on the ‘permitted’ list. Allow this maid use of the gun? (Requires password for confirmation.)
“Yes/No”
“I see what you mean.”
“Forgot about the ID lock, sorry.” He took it back for a moment, and began entering the password. “But it’s probably time I started explaining…”
And explain he did. About how he found it, its power and limits, and what he used it for at first. About chasing the Banks kids, the ‘explosion’ at the college, and the fallout. About the changes to reality, even about Myra. It felt cathartic, after trying to learn more about Vicky while acting like he’d known her his whole life, to simply speak honestly about what was going on. And he was still a bit surprised himself, to learn that some of those randomly changed during the rampage and fallout were aware of their changes. Though it did make that encounter with strange squirrel make a little more sense.
“So, the Skyla I knew… Doesn’t exist anymore?”
“No, she’s very real. Her personality, well, as far as you’ve experienced, is unchanged. She just… doesn’t remember the new world. Which, I’ll admit, is a cold comfort to you. But everything you liked about her should still be intact. It’ll just take a while to get to know each other again.”
“Isn’t there some way to restore her memories of this world, though?” She asked, then sighed after a pause. “But then I would be asking you to put yourself in a situation much like mine, wouldn’t I? She wouldn’t share your memories of growing up together. Not the same way you would.”
“...I don’t know if it’s any consolation, but I did offer to let her have her memories of this timeline; she considered it, but ultimately refused. She was worried that if she forgot what it was like to be human, she might start regarding mortals the same way her grandmother does, as she gets older.”
"Count on Myra to make things more complicated than they need to be." A smile tinged with sadness appeared on Sophie’s face. “You’re right, even with a few missing memories, she IS the Skyla I’ve known all my life. She always could be overdramatic. If that’s her decision, I’ll respect it. Thank you for telling me all this, Master.”
“You’re welcome. And I should thank you, too. It’s one less person I have to keep up an act around. If you like, I can try to bring this up to Skyla the next time I see her.”
“I appreciate the thought Master, but I can handle it myself.”
“Alright, if that’s what you want… Speaking of... Do you think you’d want to remember your life in the old timeline?”
Sophie was quite for a while, deep in thought.
“I’d be lying if I said I weren’t curious. But if I wouldn’t be able to remember this life’s memories as easily, I imagine I’d become just as curious about this life in that one, and that life in this one, in an endless loop. Besides, I’m one hundred and two. I’d likely have been dead by now if those children hadn’t changed me. There’s not much of my ‘previous life’ to go back to. I’ve outlived the rest of my family and many of my oldest friends; with some exceptions; Emma, Carrie, and Kathy, to name a few. Even if some of them used to be my friends in my ‘previous life,’ I don’t want to forget the new memories I have of them. And if I didn’t know them before, I’d be forgetting them completely! No, I’ll keep my memories of this world. Maybe I can even help Skyla fill in the blanks.”
She stood up and curtsied. “Thank you for the offer though, and thank you once again for sating my curiosity. Good night, Master.”
“Good night, Sophie.”