Up around six, Holly trudged out of bed and toward the bathroom. Her Sunday morning routine being the same as it had been for some time, she shucked off her pyjamas, made sure her church clothes were still hung up on the back of the door, and then ducked under the warm water. Enjoying the massaging stream raining down on her head and shoulders, she turned, let it play across her face before stepping forward to let work on her back. Reaching for her shampoo and conditioner, she measured out a dollop of each and began to work the lather into her hair.
As she worked at her hair, then began to rinse, Holly let her mind wander. Thinking back to the previous evening and what she had done, she asked herself, "What went wrong?" as she went back over everything she had learned about the Amulet of Zulo.
Troubled that it hadn't worked, certain she might have missed something, she reached for her facial wash and as she rubbed it on, then stepped under the pulsing water to scrub, she wondered what she might have missed. Finishing, she sucked in a fair amount of water, but didn't swallow. Spitting it back out, she breathed, "Maybe it only works if say I was touching it and an item to me. That is, I cannot touch the thing to something and another person," before reaching for her body wash.
Mind still going over and over everything she discovered on the necklace, and what had happened when she had tried to use it, Holly tried to sort of what might have gone wrong as she finished with her shower. Stepping out, still unsure, she reached for a small towel and began to dry her long, strawberry blonde hair. Wrapping the towel around her head, she wondered aloud, "Maybe I could somehow trick Dion into touching the amulet and an item," as she reached for another towel to dry everything from her face down, careful of her tender breast buds as she did so. Finishing, she reached for the clothes she had left hanging on the bathroom door and starting to dress, she wondered how she would trick her brother into touching something and the necklace at the same time.
Dressed, she stepped out into the hall. Her tights and underwear clutched in her hand, Holly headed back to her room, uncertain how she was to trick her brother. Hearing her mother argue about something with him, she smiled at the thought of him in trouble. Shutting her door, unable to her exactly what her mother was saying, Holly sat at her vanity and began to run a brush through her hair, then worked it up into something she thought made her look cute and pretty.
Afterward, she reached for the tights and underwear she had dropped on her vanity. Standing, she slipped on her panties, then stepped in and worked her tights up. Dressed, she took one look at herself in the mirror attached to her vanity, then selected a pair of stud earrings set with her birthstone. Putting in the earrings, she thought of maybe getting a small box and placing the Amulet of Zulo inside with a piece of clothing, then presenting it to Dion. Smiling, she muttered, "He might actually go for it, especially if I explain nicely enough that it came in the mail for him," she turned and slipped across her room and back out into the hall.
The sound of shower running could be heard from the bathroom and figuring Dion was likely in there, Holly ignored it as she headed downstairs. In the kitchen, she sat at the table and reached for the box of cereal as her mother puttered around preparing breakfast for herself and dad. Mind wandering as she poured the cereal, added a splash of milk, then reached for the pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice and poured herself a glass. Starting in on her breakfast, she barely paid attention to her dad as he finished, stood and began asking about his tie and whether his nice shirt was still in the dryer or had been taken upstairs. Hearing the soft sound of footsteps approaching, Holly figured it was Dion and almost didn't give the boy the slightest hint of recognition, her mind still on the necklace and how she could trick him into using it.
But then she found herself distracted when she heard, "Morning, pumpkin. And I know you don't like it, but thank you for wearing a dress," from dad and looking up, she almost burst out laughing at the sight of her brother wearing girl's clothes, and clearly still looking like a boy.
Gaining control of herself at the last minute as she realised what their dad had said, Holly instead commented, "You look, pretty. Dion," in a snide tone and watching him squirm a little, clearly uncomfortable wearing a girl's skirt, Holly had to wonder if maybe the necklace had somehow worked.
"Just not how I thought," she reasoned to herself as Dion sat down, shifted in attempt to get comfortable, then reached for the cereal.
An exasperated sigh from their mom and unaware she was staring at her brother, Holly watched from the corner of her eye as the older woman took a couple a brush and a small jewellery box from a drawer closets to the door into the laundry room, the walked over the table. Watching all this, listening as their mom told Dion to, "Sit still for a minute," Holly secretly smiled at how uncomfortable Dion clearly was, but then felt the smile leave her when she witnessed something odd.
Watching as their mom ran the brush through Dion hair, Holly wouldn't have thought it unusual to see mom brushing Dion's hair, as she had done it with Holly on a number of times. What was odd thought was that for every stroke, Holly saw that Dion's hair was getting longer and longer, whilst his dark brown hair lightened. And by the time she was done, Holly found it amazing that not only did Dion have hair that was almost as long as hers, but that it was now a light shade of brown, mixed heavily with blonde and a tinge or two of red here and there. Thinking of her own hair, blonde that had the same tinge of red, she almost wondered if she had made some mistake and Dion was turning into a younger form of herself, but then thought, "That's not possible. Especially since I never had any light brown in my hair," as she watched their mom fish something out of the jewellery box.
Baffled by what she had seen happen, Holly was taken aback when their mom took a pair of stud earrings out set with Dion's birthstone and then proceeded to pierce her brother's ears.
Positive he would have something, Holly watched as he silently took it, glaring back at her. Adjusting her thinking, Holly suppressed another giggle when she thought, "Oh, my, god. Dion has pierced ears," then began to wonder when he had had them pierced before deciding it must have somehow be all connected with the amulet and what she had witnessed with his hair.
A secret smile played across her face and as she turned back to finish her breakfast, Holly wondered, "Is the changes supposed to be like this? Slow, with only some people aware?" but unable to answer such questions, she figured it worth looking into, as well as seeing how Dion's transformation played out, how he would react further to be made to be a girl, and what she would do to him next now that she was positive the Amulet of Zulo did what she had read it did.