Magic Mayhem (attn: Alice)

[moroboshi]

"Alice," said Edith with an irritated tone in her voice, "I do not have any time for this nonsense."

Edith lifted her dress slightly off the ground as she stepped over a fallen branch. She had been walking with her younger sister through the dark woods for some time now. Alice had insisted on taking her out to Merlin's cottage deep in the woods for a spotof tea and a nice chat. She had told Edith about how wise and powerful Merlin was. Edith, being the no-nonsense individual that she was, was skeptical of the idea of a powerful wizard dwelling in one of England's forests.

"This had better be worth it," thought Edith. "I'd rather not have to travel through these woods only to find that this Merlin is merely a senile old man."

[Alice]

"Please, Edith!" Alice protested indignantly as she led the elder sibling through the woods. She made a habit of looking up to her brunette sister as they walked, but of course kept her focus on the direction they were heading. "Aren't you the least bit curious to meet him? I do talk about him so often, you know." She nodded at what she believed to be a justified statement. The two had left Dinah back at their home, so they did not have to pay special attention to anyone other than themselves for the time being.

"He has taught me so much, besides schooling, of course. I'm certain he would love to meet you." She flashed a smile up to Edith, having succeeded in swallowing her previous indignation.

[moroboshi]

Edith was beginning to suspect that Alice had been skipping out on her history lessons so that she could socialize with Merlin. With all the praise that Alice had been heaping upon Merlin, Edith could not help but feel a tad bit jealous that Alice prefered his schooling over hers.

"And just what has he taught you besides schooling?" Edith inquired.

[Alice]

"Well, he seems to pay more attention to Arthur. He has more to learn, I think." It was at that time that Alice recognized the tone in her sister's voice. She looked up to Edith and tried to smile reassuringly. "Oh! But, Edith, I'm fond of your lessons, too! Please, Merlin is very different! He... he--well, he is magical. That's quite different!" She nodded. The two were getting very near Merlin's house by that time.

[moroboshi]

"Magic?" Edith thought to herself. "What nonsense!"

Just then, Edith noticed what appeared to be a cottage made of sod and stone standing in the distance. Could this be the residence of the great wizard Merlin?

Edith began to pick up the pace so that she would finally see whether or not Merlin was for real.

[Merlin]

Little did the sisters know that Merlin was actually not inside the cottage. In fact, when Alice and her sibling arrived the wizard wasn't even close to his home. He was miles away toward the south, searching for a crucial (and difficult to find) insect for his nearly completed collection of notes. He would not kill the insect should he find one, but merely keep it in comfortable captivity until he studied the bug enough to ascertain the knowledge he desired.

"Confound it!" he scowled as he lost sight of the exact kind of insect he searched for. Clutching his staff with his right hand, he tightened his left hand into a fist and shook it as he stomped his left foot on the ground. He had been trying to catch the bug he searched for what was probably an hour already, and was quickly growing impatient.

Of course, since he was miles away from his cottage, neither of the sisters would have heard him scowling.

[Alice]

Alice's eyebrows furrowed and her lips tugged in annoyance when her older sister dismissed Merlin and his powers as nonsense. She looked ahead and saw the house now in sight. As they walked closer to the cottage, confidence gradually filled Alice's face, and she smiled calmly to the brunette. "Well, Edith," she proudly said, "just you wait until you meet him!"

Finally, Alice led Edith to the door.

[moroboshi]

Edith approached the door and opened it. The sisters walked inside the cottage, only to find that it was complete devoid of life.

Potions, notes, and books of all sorts were scattered on a table in the far corner. The dinner table, by contrast, was neat and clean. Shelves stuffed with books lined the wall to the left of the door from which Alice and Edith stood.

Edith looked at Alice with an look of accusation on her face. She was not happy to have traveled all the way out into the middle of the forest just to meet an old man, only to find out that he was not at home.

"Well, Alice?" Edith said. "Just where is this Merlin?"

[Alice]

Alice followed her sister inside, and the smile she wore on her face vanished when she realized that Merlin was not home. Not only that, but Alice couldn't help but feel nervous when the missing presence of the wizard noticeably annoyed Edith.

"Well," said Alice. She anxiously twiddled her fingers and looked around the cottage. "He could just be outside, or someplace. He ought to return soon. I think." She added the last statement quietly, as she looked out a humble window.

[moroboshi]

Edith let out a sigh of frustration. It was then that she looked up at the bookshelf and figured that as long as Merlin was not at home she might as well get something out of the trip by reading one of the many books. She walked over to the bookshelf and picked out a book with a red cover and flipped to a random page. One of the first things she noticed about the book was that it was written almost entirely in Latin, of which she had only a limited knowledge.

"What a peculiar book," she thought to herself. "This Merlin does have an interesting taste in books to say the least."

She proceeded to read from the current page.

"Aquarius, aquaticus, aqualitis, qum, aqua-digi-tonium," she read out loud.

A large poof of smoke occurred, and Edith fell to the floor as a small fish.

"Alice!" she cried out as she flopped helplessly about. "What has happened to me?"

[Alice]

Alice was beginning to feel embarrassed; she had brought her older sister all the way to Merlin's cottage, and Merlin was nowhere to be found. When Edith read from one of Merlin's very private collections, Alice had her back turned, as she was looking elsewhere. Of course, the piercing sound of Edith's scream instantly caught the girl's attention, and in her fright she spun around and instantly noticed something was terribly wrong.

Alice's pupils constricted as her eyes widened, as she stared at her transmogrified sibling. She gasped loudly and covered her mouth, and only lowered her hands when her shock decreased enough. "Edith!" Alice exclaimed. "Y-you're... you're a fish!" She saw the book next to the fish, and quickly deduced that her transformed sister and the spell book were correlated.

[moroboshi]

Edith could not believe her predicament. Physical transmogrification was pure nonsense, and yet somehow she had turned herself into a fish.

"Oh, dear!" Edith moaned. "Alice, is there anything that can be done?"

Soon, Edith began to feel weary. Seeing as how she was now a fish, she was slowly beginning to suffocate. If she did not turn back to normal as soon as possible, she would surely die.

[Alice]

Alice, fearing for her dear sister's life, frantically looked every which way, trying to find something to remedy the spell. Without another moment of hesitation, Alice grabbed the book, picked up a small, barely tangible wand (at least she assumed it was a wand) from a shelf, and flipped to the next page. She pointed to Edith and read the first sentence she spotted.

This incantation, which was again in Latin, succeeded in preventing Edith from suffocating. Unfortunately, the elder sister was transformed from a fish to a light purple pig!

"Goodness!" Alice shrieked after the smoke had cleared and revealed her transmogrified sibling. "Edith, can you breathe now?" She bit her lip with worry.

[moroboshi]

"Yes," said Edith. "I can breathe again."

But something wasn't quite right. Edith noticed that she was still smaller than Alice. She tilted her head downwards and noticed that her feet were now hooves. Edith let out a shirek, which emerged in the form of a squeal.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Edith shouted angrily.

Edith couldn't bear the thought of a proper English lady such as herself being turned into a pig, an animal which many people perceive to be filthy. But Edith quickly discarded such thoughts, for she was more concerned with returning to her human form.

"Hurry up and find the correct spell!" Edith commanded.

[Alice]

After Alice was convinced that her sister was no longer suffocating, she calmed considerably. In fact, she was relieved to the point where she actually giggled after Edith squealed like a pig, which was no surprise, considering she was now a pig!

Alice dropped the wand and covered her mouth while carrying the book with the other, and she shook her head as she tried to stop herself. "I'm sorry, Edith! But... but you were awfully close to death; I had to turn you into something! But if you ask me, you make a beautiful pig!" As she made that last comment, Alice closed her eyes and laughed harder. Despite the humor she found in this, she quickly thought of the likely possibility that Edith was distressed. And so Alice opened her eyes, lowered her hand back to the book so that she may carry it with both of her hands, and she tilted her head downward so that she could read the book again.

"Hmm, let's see," Alice said aloud. "This must be one of Merlin's spell books. But I can't find anything for humans." Alice worriedly looked from the book to Edith. "Oh! But there must be!" She returned her attention to the book after the reassuring comment. "If only I could find--" She gasped and, while holding the bottom of the book with her right hand, pointed to a particular sentence with her left index finger. "I can't read what this spell is supposed to be, for it isn't clear; it's worn and faded." She looked back to the pig. "But I can read the words to the spell. Should I try?" Her expressive eyebrows arched.

[moroboshi]

Edith thought for a moment. The fact that the words were worn and faded worried her. What if this spell turned her into something far more humiliating than a pig? But then again, there was a chance that it would turn her back into a human, or at least something less embarrassing than a pig. She was willing to take the risk.

"Very well." said Edith. "Give it a try!"

[Alice]

Alice nodded, bent and picked up the wand once more. She stood and looked back to the current page and read the spell loud and clear, pronouncing he Latin words as best as she could, while pointing the want to Edith.

After reciting the different spell, Edith was once again shrouded by a large poof of smoke. When the smoke cleared, what was once a light purple pig was now a light purple fox! Regrettably not a human, but Edith was undeniably more fetching as a blue-eyed, purple-coated fox than as a pig.

"Oh, Edith!" Alice exclaimed and frowned when she noticed Edith. "You're a fox now!" She sighed, pocketed the wand and flipped through the pages once again.

[moroboshi]

Although Edith had not been turned back into a human, she could not help but feel relieved that she was no longer a pig. After all, foxes are much more pleasing to the eye than pigs. But all of the transformations that Edith had undergone left her pondering a certain question.

"I don't mean to pry," said Edith, "but have you ever been turned into an animal by Merlin or yourself?"

[Alice]

Alice's eyes returned to her sister when she was addressed. She shook her head before answering, "I'm afraid not, Edith. At least, not yet, but Arthur has been turned into an animal. I mean, my friend! He is also a student of Merlin's." She lowered herself to the floor so she could be closer to the physically altered Edith. She also rested the book on the floor, so the both of them could read together. "But we will find the precise spell!" She smiled to Edith, but the smile quickly faded when she thought of the worst case scenario. "At least, I do hope." Alice again turned to the book and quickly skimmed through a different page, hoping to find something useful.

[moroboshi]

Edith immediately took notice of the worried look on Alice's face. She realized that her younger sister had no idea which spell would turn her back to normal. It was then that another thought dawned upon Edith: what if Merlin were to return before Alice could return Edith to her original form? In that case, both sisters would end up in serious trouble. Edith shuddered to think about the wrath of an angry wizard. Furthermore, she was worried that Alice would end up taking the fall for her mistake.

[Alice]

With the magic wand in her hand and ready for use, Alice stopped skimming through the book when she discovered a new, different spell. Without hesitating, she pointed the wand to her sister and read the incantation aloud. After another poof of smoke, it was ultimately revealed that Edith was transformed into an English sparrow.

Alice, still seated on the floor, rubbed the top of her head and sighed. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Pooh!" she exclaimed.

[moroboshi]

Edith could not help but feel frustrated at Alice for failing to find the correct spell, but she realized that Alice was doing what little she could to help her elder sister.

"Keep trying, Alice!" She shouted, frantically flapping her wings.

[Alice]

Alice clasped her right palm on her face when Edith was transformed into a sparrow. But when Edith encouraged her to continue, Alice removed her hand from her face, looked to the pretty sparrow, and nodded. "Yes, Edith."

She returned her gaze to the book, turned several pages, and said other words she didn't know the meaning of, yet read them as best as she could anyway, after retrieving the wand and waving it in Edith's general direction. With another large poof of sulfur, Alice stared at where the sparrow once stood, until the smoke cleared to reveal a purple mouse. "Oh, dear!" Alice pouted. In sheer frustration, she dropped the book beside her, as well as the magic wand. She jumped to her feet, took several steps opposite of Edith, and ran her right hand through her hair. She folded her arms on her chest, closed her eyes and sighed loudly; she seethed in disappointment and frustration.

[moroboshi]

Edith looked down at herself and let out a squeak. Now that she was a mere mouse, she felt more helpless than ever.

"Oh, what ever will I do?" Edith moaned.

Edith sat in anticipation of the next spell. What was she to turn into next? A frog? A cow? Or perhaps even a chicken? Edith could not bear the thought of turning into such creatures.

"At least Dinah isn't here," she thought.

As she pondered her predicament, Edith looked up for a moment at Alice's legs.

""I can't believe that I never noticed how plump your legs are," Edith commented.

[Alice]

Alice quickly opened her hues, and just as hastily snapped her gaze down to her sibling. She broke her arms from their fold, tightly clenched her hands into fists and slammed them down by her sides, as she stamped her right foot on the wooden floor and loudly grunted. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked directly to her transmogrified sibling, and her red lips only signified her indignation as any other feature.

"Edith!" she shouted. "That's very rude!" She stepped closer to the mouse, so that her calves would be nearer. "My legs are not plump!" she exclaimed angrily, stamping her right foot on the floor again. Although she was angry, she was fully aware of her actions, and was still careful not to accidentally crush her sibling. "They're--they're just grown!"

Alice was particularly offended by Edith's statement. But the way Alice reacted and exclaimed would give the impression that she had received the same type of comment before, at least once.

[moroboshi]

Not wanting to be crushed by her younger sibling, Edith scurried for the nearest hiding spot. She found a small hole in the wall and immediately crawled through it. Unfortunately, she ran out only seconds later when the hole's resident mouse chased her out.

"Oh, I would teach that mouse a lesson in manners if I were a human once more!" Edith said, placing her hands on her hips.

Edith then turned her attention to Alice, who was still offended by her comment from earlier.

"I apologize for what I said about your legs, Alice," said Edith. "Please don't hurt me!"

[Alice]

With a displeased expression on her face, the terribly annoyed Alice watched the purple mouse scurry about. The unamused girl had folded her arms on her chest, but after Edith's apology Alice's face loosened, and she sighed. She unfolded her arms and sat beside Edith and the book, which had remained on the floor after Alice had stood up earlier.

"I'm sorry," Alice said sincerely. "It's just that..." She leaned her face as close to the mouse to the best of her ability, partially so Edith could hear her completely, but also because Alice was curious to get a better look of Edith as a mouse. "You see, I have an aversion to being told that. But now that you know, I forgive you."

Alice then pulled herself back and sat Indian style. She picked up the book, which was by her side, and began to flip through the pages once more. "Edith," she said as she skimmed through the pages; "Merlin would surely cure you when he returns." She looked from the book down to the mouse, with a neutral expression. "Should we wait, or do you want me to try a different spell?"

[moroboshi]

"I think you should try a different spell," said Edith, after extensive pondering of Alice's question. "I shudder to think of how Merlin would react if he returned to find us using magic. If you turn me back to normal before he returns, we won't have anything to worry about. Besides, we don't know when he will be back."

[Alice]

Alice tightened her lips and nodded in agreement with her sister. "I suppose you're right," she responded. She shrugged and sighed simultaneously. "Well..."

She skimmed through several pages of the incoherent and complicated book, until her eyes fell onto a particular passage. She rested the book down, picked up the wand, aimed it at Edith, and read the contents of the page as best as she could. Once again, a large puff of smoke engulfed Edith, and when the smoke cleared it was revealed that Edith was transformed from something small to something much larger.

"Edith!" Alice exclaimed as she rose to her feet and stared at her sibling with wide eyes and an even wider smile. Alice was noticeably happy to see her sibling now. As she stood, she left the book and the wand on the floor.

But Alice's pleased expression did not mean that Edith was human again; it only meant that she was now a horse, an animal Alice particularly liked. Still, Edith was a remarkably beautiful horse, especially to Alice.

[moroboshi]

Edith looked down at herself and let out a sigh. However, she did not remain disappointed for long.

"Well, at least I'm no longer a tiny mouse," she said.

Edith tried not to move around too much, lest she accidently knock something over. Suddenly, a strange feeling came over her. Up until now, she was eager to return to her human form. But now that she was a horse, she almost felt the urge to try out her new form and run about freely. She took notice of Alice's pleased expression and imagined herself giving Alice a ride. However, Edith quickly discarded such thoughts and snapped back to reality.

"Oh, what nonsense!" she thought to herself. "I'm not a beast of burden! I'm a Victorian lady! I should be studying history, not letting children ride me across the British countryside!"