Monday night ended up being a bit of a mixed bag as far as sleep. Going to bed in my girl-body gave me lots of little moments of euphoria, but over-all I was still too upset by everything that happened to actually enjoy it.

  All the distractions from the news and talking with Ellie and everything also meant I had too many other things on my mind and forgot to have a shower like I meant to. So when I woke up Tuesday morning still in my girl body I didn't waste any time hopping in the shower. And that was just awesome.

  Instead of dealing with dysphoria or just sort of zoning out and getting it over with as fast as possible I actually enjoyed it. Not too much, and I didn't spend too long in there, but it was just really nice. And maybe I did take two or three extra minutes to familiarize myself with my new anatomy while I was washing up.

  It was also wonderful not having to shave. Not that I ever had a full beard or anything, but the smooth soft skin on my face gave me another little burst of joy. Then with my towel wrapped around me I returned to my bedroom, and started going through my backpack to figure out which of my limited outfit options I wanted to wear.

  That didn't take long, and I finally got dressed then slipped on my new sandals before heading downstairs with my phone in my hand.

  "Holy shit," my sister blurted out as soon as I stepped into the kitchen.

  She was just finishing her bowl of cereal, while mom sat across from her with a cup of coffee and a slice of toast.

  Mom frowned, "Amelia nguage! What was that for?"

  She gestured at me, "Check it out! Bke's in a dress!"

  "You look good by the way," my sister added. "I was just surprised to see it."

  "Thanks sis," I smiled as I got a bowl and a box of cereal out of the cupboard.

  By that point mom was staring as well. She asked, "Where did you get that dress from? It looks nice on you honey, but it's probably one or two sizes too big."

  "Ellie gave it to me st night," I expined as I pulled the milk out of the fridge. "She also gave me a pair of jeans, a pair of leggings, and four t-shirts."

  "And I got some panties and bras from the discount store in Dundalk," I added as I poured some milk over my cereal. "Same with the sandals."

  Mom frowned slightly as she watched me sit down next to my sister. Then she sighed, "You're going to need more clothes than that, Bke. Assuming you're going to be spending more and more time in that form."

  "Although I don't want to think about what would happen if you were wearing properly-fitting clothes like that when you turned back to your original shape," she added with a worried look.

  That got me frowning as well, and I suppressed a shudder as I munched on my first mouthful of breakfast. My eyes drifted to that ring on my finger again, and I couldn't help thinking maybe I should test whether or not it still worked while I was in this form. Then maybe I'd just use it for an hour every day whether I needed it or not, to ensure I never changed back to my guy body again.

  Mom's frown had shifted to a thoughtful look as she had a sip of her coffee. Then she sighed, "Since you're not going to school today, why don't I take you shopping? We'll have to figure out your measurements, then we can get you some nice clothes that fit properly."

  "Oh um, I already got all my measurements st night," I mumbled as my cheeks coloured. "Ellie took them for me and wrote it all down."

  At the same time Amelia compined, "No fair! How come Bke gets to skip school and I don't?"

  Our mom shook her head, "You're not going to school today either. Why don't the three of us make a little day-trip of it? We'll go to up to Owen Sound and do some shopping, find somewhere for a nice lunch, maybe even do some sight-seeing? What do you girls think, would you like a little mother-daughters day?"

  By the time she was finished my heart was fluttering from all the gender affirmation. Normally the thought of going clothes shopping with my mom would be maybe one step above visiting the dentist in terms of dread, but being invited on a mother-daughter day and getting more cute femme clothes and stuff left me with a wide smile on my face.

  "I'm not?" my sister asked in surprise. Then her tone became suspicious as she asked, "Why not? What's going on that you actually want me to skip school?"

  Mom gnced at me then sighed, "Bke was attacked yesterday at work. I made some enquiries st night to confirm who was behind it, but needless to say it's because of that ring. The people who want it know who she is and where she works. They also know where she lives and that you're her sister. Until I'm certain the danger's passed I'd rather not let either of you out of my sight."

  "What?!" Amelia gasped. "What do you mean attacked"

  Then she looked at me and added, "Bke what happened to you? Are you ok?"

  Mom shook her head, "Bke's fine now, thank goodness. You don't need to know the details Amelia, the important thing is your sister's safe now."

  I ended up quietly staring at mom through that whole exchange. Her words left me with even more questions, like what sort of enquiries and who did she talk to? Who was behind the attack? And how long did she think we'd be in danger? That also led me to another important question, which I needed her to answer immediately.

  "If you think they'd threaten Amelia then what about Ellie and Harper?" I demanded. "These people obviously know all kinds of stuff about me, considering they knew where I worked and when I'd be there. Are my friends in danger too? I'm going to text them both right now, what should I be telling them? Should I invite them to come with us today?"

  Mom hesitated briefly then sighed, "It wouldn't be a bad idea for your friends to skip school too. They should probably avoid any regur routines, including things like going to work."

  I already had my phone in hand by that point, and quickly started tapping out a message for both Ellie and Harper. "My mom says it's not safe for you to go to school or work or anything. She's not letting Amelia go to school either. We've got some other pns today, maybe you two can come over here this morning and join us?"

  While I was doing that my sister demanded, "Mom what the hell is going on? Who are these people, how and why did you get involved with them?!"

  My phone pinged with a text just then, and rather than answer Amelia's question mom looked at me to see what my friends said.

  "I don't mind missing school," Harper wrote. "What sort of pns though?"

  Ellie's response came a moment ter, "Probably best not to answer that by text. Incase someone's monitoring. I'm up for whatever though."

  Harper wrote back, "Gotcha. How about I pick you up then? Bke we'll be there in a few minutes."

  "Sounds good. Be careful," I texted them both. Then I told my mom, "Harper's picking up Ellie and they'll both be here in about ten minutes."

  Amelia was still gring at our mom, and she sounded both impatient and annoyed as she asked "Mom are you ever going to tell us the truth? I think we have a right to know, especially if we're in some kind of danger because of this stuff."

  "I agree," I nodded. "If we're all in danger because of this thing we deserve to know why, or what's going on. At least tell us who these people are? Like you said you made enquiries st night, who did you talk to? Was it the same mystery person you called on Sunday?"

  Mom looked stressed again as she got up and took her mug and pte over to the sink. Then she gathered up Amelia's cereal bowl and mine as well, since we'd both finished eating. She rinsed everything out before finally returning to the table. She was obviously stalling, but I figured she needed the time to work out what she was going to tell us.

  When she finally sat back down again a couple minutes ter she looked at me and Amelia and admitted, "There's things I've kept from you girls because I didn't think you'd understand. And certainly when you were both younger you wouldn't have. There's other things I've kept from you both, for your own safety. Things that could have caused us all a great deal of trouble if the wrong people overheard or found out."

  "I didn't intend to keep all of this from you two forever," she added. "I always pnned to tell you both once you were older. I even made arrangements incase something happened to me. I've left sealed envelopes for both of you in the care of a wyer in Toronto, along with instructions to deliver them after my death."

  Hearing that send a chill down my spine. I shook my head, "Mom this is crazy. It sounds like something out of a movie."

  Amelia looked uncomfortable too. She frowned, "I just want to know what's going on. Why are we all in danger, how did you get involved in this stuff?"

  Mom was quiet again for a few seconds as she seemed to be thinking things over. She finally sighed, "Some of this is very hard for me to talk about. I suppose it's because of shame, or guilt. But you girls do have a right to know the truth."

  "We'll talk once we're in the car," she decided a moment ter. "Bke's friends should be here any minute, and I'd rather not have to repeat anything. I don't want to have any interruptions either, while I'm expining things."

  "Ok mom," I nodded slowly, while Amelia looked impatient.

  Sure enough it was only another two minutes before there was a knock at the door. I got up to answer it but mom shook head, "I'll get it. You two stay put."

  That sent a little shock of anxiety through me as I realized mom didn't want me answering the door incase there was someone dangerous out there. I gnced down at the ring again as I waited and listened while she went to answer the door. I was ready to do the magical girl transformation in an instant, if I heard anything other than Ellie or Harper's voices.

  A couple seconds ter I rexed as mom greeted my friends and invited them inside. She led them through into the kitchen where we all greeted each other.

  "So what's going on, what's the pn?" Harper asked.

  I blushed slightly as I replied, "My mom was going to take me and Amelia up to Owen Sound to do some shopping? I need more clothes and stuff. And we were also going to stop for lunch, make a day-trip out of it?"

  "Except when I found out you two might be in danger as well," I continued with a grimace, "I suggested we invite you to come with us. So um, sorry Harper it might not be much fun for you? The clothes shopping part anyways."

  He smiled and shrugged, "Eh, it's fine. I'd rather hang out with you and Ellie in a dies clothes store than sit around some boring cssrooms on the second-st day of school."

  "Same," Ellie agreed. Then she added in a wary tone, "You haven't forgotten about the timing though, right Bke? Between ten in the morning and two in the afternoon is a pretty big window. I uh, don't think you're going to want to be out in public or wearing any tight femme clothes when it happens."

  I sighed as my expression fell, "Yeah I know, I haven't forgotten. I was um, thinking about using the ring before we go? To try and reset the clock or whatever?"

  She shook her head, "We don't actually know what that'll do. Or if it'll work at all. And it'll completely invalidate our current estimates. Like I could make a guess, but that's all it'd be."

  "I know," I sighed. Then I shrugged as my right hand moved towards my left and I took hold of the ring, "Only one way to find out though, right?"

  "Bke are you sure about this honey?" mom asked. From the anxious tone in her voice and the way she was frowning I could tell she really didn't want me to do it. On the other hand she hadn't actually told me not to, and I appreciated that she wasn't trying to stop me or anything.

  I nodded, "Yes mom."

  "Harper can you please set a timer for ten minutes?" I added as I looked to my other friend.

  He nodded as he pulled out his phone, and a second ter he replied "All set."

  Then I gave the ring a twist, and sure enough it lit up pink. As soon as I felt that warm tingling sensation I punched my fist towards the ceiling, and the pink light washed down over me. My bck dress and sandals were repced by the pink bustier, skirt, and ankle boots, while my light-brown hair became long wavy and pink.

  I couldn't help smiling as I looked down at myself, "I guess that answers that question. I don't have to wait until I turn back into a guy before using the ring again."

  "I'll never get tired of seeing that," Ellie commented with a wide grin. "So cool!"

  PurpleCatGirl