At the sight of her best friend and beloved lady-in-waiting, Anya, Janessa dismounted from her horse and ran over. Anya seemed a bit surprised by her appearance, but then Janessa realized it was just because she was wearing a milkmaid's dress.
"Oh, I know you have never seen me in anything like this, Anya, but trust me, it is far less attention-grabbing than what I was wearing this morning," Janessa reassured her. Anya laughed.
"Oh, I can only imagine!" Anya eyed the locket Janessa was wearing. "Hey, could you give that back to me?" she asked. Janessa blinked, then remembered Anya had given the little bauble to her as good luck. It wasn't magic, but it provided Janessa comfort in the harem before Gareth joined as Greta.
"Of course!" Janessa slipped the necklace over her head and handed it to Anya, who seemed very pale all of a sudden. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I just need to talk to Gareth about what all happened since I last spoke to you two," Anya said smoothly. Janessa nodded and went over to check on the horses. Anya gestured for Gareth to come to her. Janessa didn't pay attention to her soon-to-be fiance and best friend chatting, instead daydreaming about finally spending some quality time with her love.
"She is...very different, yet somehow the same," Anya remarked to Gareth once he finished debriefing her.
"Yes."
"And what does she think my role is now?"
"Best friend and lady-in-waiting."
"Okay." Anya tossed her hair. "I can work with that. What I cannot work with..." She held up the amulet. "Janessa should not have been able to remove it herself, but she did. Which confirmed my fear when I saw it. It has been completely drained of magic. Every ounce of magic I poured into this thing when I spelled it has been used up to make Prince Jasper into Princess Janessa."
"Will we never have our prince again?" Gareth asked. Anya sighed.
"I would not say 'never'. My brothers and I will look into things, but even if everything goes perfectly, I suspect we will not have Prince Jasper back until after the war is over."
"I see."
"It could easily take longer than that, though, at which point we have to weigh whether it would be kinder to leave her as Janessa," Anya continued. She smiled. "But we are not there yet! So let us be optimistic!" Gareth nodded.
Janessa ran over and threw her arms around Gareth, kissing him deeply and passionately. Gareth found himself kissing her back. He couldn't help it. Janessa was beautiful and, thanks to her extensive practice, very good at kissing. When Janessa pulled away, she still held his hand.
"Anya, Gareth promised to propose to me after the war!" she gushed. She stroked his chest. "He will be such a fine husband and king."
"Ah. Yes," Anya said, quickly hiding the hurt expression on her face.
"Could we please share a room?" Janessa gushed. She winked at Anya. "With one extra-large bed."
"I will see about that," Anya managed. "Princess, please, go inside and eat some dinner. We will be after you shortly." Janessa kissed Gareth on the cheek and then went inside. Anya glared at Gareth.
"Look, you told me to not tell her that her memories were wrong!" he snapped. Anya covered her face.
"I know, I know. It is just..." She sighed. "I assume in her memories we have switched roles? You, Jasper's best friend are now Janessa's lover. And I, Jasper's lover, am now Janessa's best friend." Gareth nodded.
"That is what it seems like."
"Okay." Anya sighed. "Well. We just need to lean into her memories and I will speak to my brothers." A sly smile appeared on her face. "And I will make sure the two of you share a room with one extra-large bed."
That night...