I wake-up, noticing that it's dark, but this isn't what gets my attention. What grabs my attention right away is the man standing in my room. Looking at him, scared, tail twitching back in forth, I hug Stephanie closer to my body.
Finally he speaks. He tells me by way of introduction that he is a member of Zulo and that he has come for the amulet. Looking at him, I tell him, "You can't have it. It's the only way for me to return to my male self and for Stephanie to turn back into the five year old girl she used to be."
The man shakes his head and says, "I'm afraid that is not possible."
"What?!?" I squawk out in indignation. "I don't believe you and just to prove it, I'm going to my room and get the shirt I bought earl..." I trail off as I realize something; I'm in my room and I never bought any shirt because I'm to young to be wandering around outside by myself.
The man looks at me patiently and says, "Reality is catching up to you faster and faster now. Whether it is because you've had two encounters with the Amulet of Zulo or because the medallion is broken, I don't know."
Sliding out of bed, tail twitching, I tell him, "Well then find a way to alter reality or get me a medallion that's not broken, because I want my sister back to her old self and I want to be a boy...." I trailed off again as I realized how strange this sounded; me a healthy eight year old girl wanting to be an icky boy.
The man looks at me some more and finally says, "The Amulets of Zulo are breaking. There are now three that have broken. Three of fifty total. The magicks that protect them are breaking down and as such, the magick is behaving in an unusual manner."
"So," I tell him in a defiant tone.
"So," he continues on. "So, that means that because you and your sister have been transformed under broken magick, there is no way to guarantee that you can ever return. Your fates have been altered to such that you will become a healthy two year old Skunkette while your sister is to be a doll. No one remembers her except you and the sad part is that eventually you shall forget. Though you will hold onto the doll for the rest of your life, feeling that there is an attachment there, you'll never now why."
Sitting down on the floor, hugging my sister, wanting to cry so more, not liking that fact that she was stuck as a doll, I missed the strange mans departure. Getting up, I went to the closet to search for the Amulet of Zulo.
After a bit, I forgot what I was searching for and instead pulled on my princess costume with the fairy wings and ballet slippers. Opening the door to my room, seeing the storage room open, something inside me told me that that room was my bedroom, but I pushed this odd thought aside and went skipping down the hall. In the living room, I found mommy and cuddling up to her, she asked, "Would my princess like some dinner after her nap?"
Giggling, liking the way mommy smelled with her perfume on, I nodded as she got up and carried me into the kitchen so we could decide what was for dinner.