“Wow! Future Sara looks badass!” Maedel grinned.
“What? What’s wrong with my… our... Whats wrong with her ass?” I asked feeling slightly hurt. “It seems perfectly fine to me!” I say as I squat down and feel my doubles tight cheeks.
“Quit that… Now,” Future me says sternly and I jump back a little fearfully.
“Its just an expression Sara. It means she looks tough” Maedel explains.
The other me takes a step towards Maedel before grabbing her tightly in her arms.
“Hey now, maybe you aren’t so tough as I thought,” Maedel says nervously.
Future me lets go and clearly feeling a bit awkward too as she doesn’t make eye contact when she succinctly says “Sorry. It’s… been a while since I’ve seen you.”
I sniff and get teary eyed and start waving my hand at my face trying to dry the tears. The others stare at me as if to say “really?”
“Sorry. I just find reunions of old friends really touching,” I answer the unspoken question. My future self rolls her eyes at me.
“So… plan to stop the clown war or something?” Maedel shrugs.
“Forget that! If she’s from the future she’ll know how I get changed back!”
“You’re still a pig in the future,” Sara says, “We had higher priorities than changing you back.”
Connie snorts loudly in disgust, “What? How many years did you leave me as a pig? Do you know how undignified this is?”
“Well, if everything goes the way it did in my future you won’t care about being a pig or dignity. We held out as long as we could but were overwhelmed. Your future self bravely sacrificed the last of her humanity, and your precious dignity, to make sure I could go back in time and stop things from going that far.”
“I end up a mindless pig?” Connie looked at her reflection in the mud puddle beneath her and saw a pig staring back, “It’s not fair… I’m a Princess. It can’t be true!”
“It is. You got hit and the last thing I saw you do was poop all over the floor. If you don’t want that to happen you have to give up on looking for a cure and help me stop the clowns.” Future Sara explained with no compassion in her voice.
“So if that’s what happens to Connie then what about the rest of us?” Andrew asks, “You said you hadn’t seen Maedel in a long time, right?”
The doppelganger glares at him seeming to only now realize his presence.
“You don’t want to know,” she says through clenched teeth. Andrew gulps.
“Now we have to leave. If you haven’t already noticed you’ve let a clown escape and she’ll be back with reinforcements. In my timeline they managed to catch the Queen’s pet monkey – uh, I mean Morgana here. We can’t stay.” The time traveller says.
“She’s not just a clown. She’s Lady Cecilia of House… something or other.” I speak up trying to sound as forceful as my future self but probably sounding more like a spoilt little girl. “If you couldn't manage to save anyone in your time then what makes you think we have a chance following you now?”
“Because I know where the prophet who saw this mess before it happened is and I know they can help us stop it. Face it. I’m the best bet you have.”
“Well could we at least come up with a nickname for you so I don’t have to keep calling you my future self in my internal monologue?” I say.
“Fine. Call me… Hazel.” She says.
“Hazel?! I’ve always wanted to be called Hazel!” I scream jealously.
“What part of ‘future self’ are you not getting?” says the other me I’m still not happy call Hazel.
“Neither of you have brown hair or eyes.” Maedel says.
“So?” We say In unison.
“It just doesn’t seem to fit is all. I mean I have tanned skin and dark hair. It’d fit me but… You know what let’s just call you Hazel.” Maedel sighs.
“No fair,” I cross my arms and pout.