"Who are you?" asked the women's leader.
"Uh, my name is Beth, and so far today I've been an ordinary girl, a princess, a frog, an ordinary girl again and now a boy." Beth felt on the edge of breaking down into tears.
The woman gave a sad smile. "Yeah, it's rough isn't it. All of us can vouch for that, just as we can vouch that it's not the end of life. I am Princess Charity, formerly Prince Valor, and these are the maiden knights. To be honest, there's not much that can be done about reversing these kinds of spells. My beloved sister." She turned and spat. "Patience is a very talented, very clever magician. It took the strength of several experienced wizards to take her down. She didn't have as much time to prepare what she used on you, though, so there might be a chance. We're going back to the court, and the magicians there can have a look at you. Would you like to come?"
Beth agreed--the last thing he wanted at the moment was to be alone--and joined the women as they walked back. He was curious about how they had adjusted to their changes. He asked Jakita, a plain-looking round-faced woman but cheerful who reminded Beth of his original form.
"Oh, it was horrible." she answered. "There were about fifty of us changed, and three committed suicide after the first day. The only thing that held us together was Princess Charity. You see, we were fighters--and now we couldn't even lift our swords and lances. It wasn't just that we were now women, we felt like we weren't anything."
"How awful!"
"Yes, but the Princess who was changed right along with us, she didn't give in. She figured out that those of us who wanted to stay warriors--not everyone did--could still fight, but with different weapons. So the next day, she started offering training on the short bow and the rapier and the knife--stuff that doesn't require as much muscle. I spent twelve hours a day the first few weeks, training, and at the end of the day I was too tired to feel sorry for myself. And you can't train like that without getting to feel at home in your body."
"So do you feel better about yourself now?"
Jakita smiled. "Well, it is a different style. A lot more sneaking around, and a lot less charging. Some of the kingdom's neighbors thought to take advantage of the loss of our knights by invading, and we maiden knights proved ourselves then."
"Do you like being a woman now?"
"I might change back if I had the chance, but I don't know. You see, before I changed, I had a comrade, Wilgus. We drank together, brawled, chased women--we were as close as two warriors could be. So when we changed, we turned to each other for comfort. And then we found that we could be closer, that there was a place we had never been brave enough to go as men."
"Uh, so you and she. . ."
"Yeah, and I really wouldn't want to give that up. On the other hand, periods really do suck, so I might change back if someone offered. To tell the truth, I really don't think about it that much anymore."