Tiffany LeChat, the shopkeeper, looked up surprised when her doorbell rang for the third time in this still very young month. It had been decades since she got this many customers. She rose from her seat and put on her most marketable smile. “Good afternoon, deary, welcome to LeChat’s! Can I help you?”
The young woman actually jumped in surprise when suddenly being addressed. She had long blonde hair and big blue eyes behind thick glasses. Her attire consisted of a plain sweater that was a bit too thick for this weather and the longest skirt Tiffany had seen since Woodstock. With her magic the shopkeeper could see that hidden under the many layers of conservative clothing was hidden a quite shapely body that would definitely make many envious (including Tiffany though she'd never admit it). But the eyecatcher was the necklace with a big cross she was wearing.
She looked fervently around to ascertain she really was the one being spoken to, before beginning with a lite stammer, “I-I think I’m fine. I just thought this necklace might be a nice present for my roommate for what we’ve got planned today.” As a small blush crept on her face she pointed at a necklace with an abbadon hanging off it, one of the few objects that wasn't just an illusory placeholder and which Tiffany was only 70% certain didn’t house any evil demons.
“I think I can help with more than just a simple present,” Tiffany said, as she approached to put a hand on her shoulder in her usual tactic. The mousy girl backed a step away almost immediately, but the little grace she got in was already enough for her trusty lip-loosening spell. “What's your name, deary?”
“M-Maria… Maria Dieu,” she answered. The spell had to do quite a bit of work to get her to talk, she must’ve been extremely shy.
“If I’m allowed the question, the way you talk about your roommate, it seems you two are quite close, maybe even in a relationship?”
The way Maria’s face lit up meant Tiffany was right on the money. “I-I-I mean, I’m not sure if we could call ourselves that already… We went through a lot… especially when my parents didn't approve of me and my choices. But my roommate stood up for me, just like always since we were young, and I’ll always be thankful to her for that.”
Tiffany had to hold herself back from swooning a little bit. A typical story of childhood friends always standing up to each other and already living in a relationship long before they realized. From context clues she could already tell that the reason Maria was even here wasn't because she was unhappy with her relationship in any way. It's just that her upbringing left her extremely suppressed, something that continued to this day.
Tiffany stopped, as the full answer reached her brain. “Did you say, her?”
Maria’s gaze went down to her feet. “U-Uhm, yes. Lilith Apfelbaum, we’ve always been neighbors. She may like to dress like a punk, but she's actually a really nice and social person. Pretty much the opposite of me…”
“Now that's an interesting situation…” Tiffany said, while stroking her chin in thought. First that woman with the monster fantasy and now a repressed lesbian, she’d really need to check the spell that drew in costumers.
Starting to be weirded out, Maria flinched back. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you see, and please don't scream, I’m a sorceress.” With a snap Tiffany’s clothes were replaced by the most cliché witch outfit, including the large, and with another snap her normal clothes were back.
Maria’s eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to scream, only for no sound to come out as she did.
“Didn't I tell you not to scream? Anyways, you don't have to worry. I won't do any more to you.”
“Any… more?”
“You have to know, there's an enchantment on this place. Every woman that enters gains the power to change her boyfriend slash husband in any way she wants. No limits, no tricks, no take backs. Lilith is yours to control in body and mind. Though to be fair, this spell wasn't meant with girlfriends in mind, it has been there for a loooong time, really need to update it… My point, I’m not sure it’ll work properly, in which case I might make an exception to my “No Return”-policy.”
“Bu-But why would you do this?”
“Because not every woman has it as good as you in their choice of partners.”
“I see… sorry… But I don't want such a power.”
“Then just don't use it. For it to activate, say what you want to change, followed by ‘as I will’. Simple as that. If you don't want to change her, that's up to you, but can you look me in the face and tell me there's never been anything about her you wanted to change or a dream or fantasy you wanted to make reality?”
“I-I-I… I have to go…” Slowly and without waiting for a response Maria shuffled out of the store. Tiffany still resolved to keep watch of her just like how she did with some of her other recent customers.
Maria was deep in thought while walking back to their flat. What the shopkeeper said unnerved her, especially the part about occasionally wishing to make some dreams reality. Lilith had helped her a lot over the last years, gaining self-confidence, coming to terms with her sexuality, opening up more, but she still had a long way to go. Maria was fully aware she herself was the reason their relationship hadn't progressed much. There were many fantasies she was still keeping to herself, but maybe it would be nice to indulge in them a little bit…
The young woman shook her head. She should really just try to forget what just happened and not tempt herself. Lilith and her had something special planned for later that day and she was resolved to enjoy it. Though just in case she'd pay attention not to mutter the words “as I wish”.