There was a flash of light. When the light cleared, the six rebel men were no more. Instead, standing before Sassy and Anya were two adult women and a teenage girl. The woman that had been the rebel leader was nursing a toddler girl. The other adult woman was nursing a newborn girl. For a moment, Sassy wondered where the last rebel was, until she saw that the woman that had been the rebel leader was heavily pregnant.
“Do you know where the closest town is?” asked the woman that had been the leader, and seemingly still was.
“Down the road a ways,” Anya replied, recovering from the shock of the spell remarkably fast. “I can accompany you, if you wish.”
“That would be grand,” the leader said. “There is safety in numbers.”
“I agree,” Anya said. The group continued down the road. Anya asked the leader questions along the way. It seemed the spell had given the former rebels new memories to fit their new lives. The leader was now named Missy Younghusband, and was due to give birth to her second child any day. The other adult woman was Missy’s friend Patsy, the aunt of the teenage girl, named Sophia. The toddler was named Ophelia and the newborn Harriet. Both adult women had been widowed in the coup.
When they arrived at the next town, the group of former rebels bid them farewell and went to find a place to stay. Anya leaned forward.
“The amulet works even better than I expected,” she remarked. Sassy nodded in agreement. “I am glad we can rely on it to protect us while I rebuild my magic stores.” Sassy whickered, agreeing again. Then, she wondered what Anya’s next move would be, whether they would stay the night or continue traveling.