Shawn was now in a room with a reasonably comfortable bed.
On the bed lay simple clothing: a white tunic with brown trim and a leather belt.
He was still wearing only the pathetic rag.
Out of curiosity he walked to the mirror in the room.
And stared at his reflection.
Golden eyes.
Bright, almost hypnotic.
And the hair…
'This haircut looks terrible on a girl!' he thought, frustration surging.
Shawn quietly tested a few basic words.
"Hello… you good…"
His voice was feminine.
Soft, yet with a hint of firmness.
He hated it.
What annoyed him even more was that he no longer heard his old male voice inside his head.
'What a shitty voice!' he thought, anger rising.
To calm down, he examined his face more closely.
Skin fairly pale, features sort of pretty.
Small, upturned nose. Thin, neatly shaped eyebrows.
But when his gaze dropped to his chest, disappointment hit again.
'Nothing,' he thought, frustration flooding back. 'Literally nothing.'
Shawn dropped the rag and looked at his naked body.
Slim, almost fragile.
'This feels so weird,' he thought, eyeing himself suspiciously.
Then he noticed the eight small black stripes on his right forearm again.
He leaned closer and watched one of them slowly start to fade.
'What…?' he thought, fear creeping in. 'Is this my lifespan timer now? Or some kind of curse…?'
But another thought occurred to him.
'Nah, if it's supposedly from God… there's no way He would curse me three times!'
Shawn glanced between his legs.
'Why did God do this to me?' he thought, shame washing over him.
He was about to touch the new area when he heard light knocks.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Have you changed yet?" came the knight's voice.
Panic surged through Shawn.
"Almost!" he answered nervously.
He grabbed the clothes and changed at lightning speed—even though it was his first time wearing women's clothing.
When he finished, he checked the mirror.
'I look like a guy wearing girl clothes,' he thought, clicking his tongue.
Shawn forced a smile and opened the door.
The knight gave him a huge smile.
"You look so much prettier now!" she exclaimed, looking him up and down. "Too bad I don't have a dress to really bring out your beauty."
Shawn blinked.
'Yeah, this woman needs glasses… shame there are no optometrists in this world.'
"Uh… no need," Shawn said, clearing his throat.
The knight smiled.
"You're adorable," she said gently.
She gestured for him to sit on the bed.
Shawn obeyed, and they both sat.
"My name is Elena," the knight said warmly. "What's yours?"
Shawn opened his mouth.
"Sh—"
He stopped.
'I can't use my guy name now,' he thought, panic rising.
"Sheila," he corrected quickly. "My name is Sheila."
Elena looked at him sadly.
'Poor girl,' Elena thought, heart aching. 'She was probably locked up so long by her captor that she's terrible at socializing.'
"You're safe now," Elena said with a smile. "In the Kingdom of Sharpi, all mages are treated fairly."
Shawn almost laughed out loud.
'Who the hell named their kingdom something so unfortunate?' he thought, covering his mouth. 'Bet it was a woman!'
"Sorry… who rules this place?" Shawn asked politely.
Elena looked surprised.
"How long were you held captive?" she asked, frowning. "The founder and ruler of this kingdom for centuries has been Queen Iris Ashford."
Shawn smirked inwardly.
'Haha, called it,' he thought.
But then a doubt hit him.
"Centuries?" Shawn asked, confused.
Elena looked serious.
"Our queen is a vampire," she said firmly.
Shawn started trembling.
Bad memories flooded his mind.
Horror movies. Vampires draining blood. Screams. Death.