I close the door behind me as I leave, making sure the front is locked up.

“Oh Lina! Glad I caught you! I was wondering if you could mend this?”

Ms. Lix holds out a fancied up work dress to me, a few pieces of scrap material on top. I look over the beautiful and sturdy material. I nod my head.

“What do you want done here?”

“I was hoping you can mend the cuffs and the neckline, I want to empress the prince if he ever comes through!”

“You have a husband!”

“Exactly!”

“Has he not said I love you yet this week?”

“Yes! My heart is broken! Oh comfort me Lina!”

She leans on me putting the back of her hand to her forehead.

“You know very well he is a quiet man!”

She mumbles,

“I still wish he would compliment my figure more.”

“You do have a wonderful figure. Hmmm, I'll charge you 5 silver. I'll add some ruffles here as well.”

“Oh that's perfect, please get it done as soon as you can!”

She places 5 silvers and a copper in my palm and skips off before I can protest.

Always full of energy I see.

I make my way home figuring out what thread to use and deciding to hand sew it for better detail. I enter my cottage and set the dress down on my chair and my fresh loaf of bread on my counter to eat later.

I pick up the dress and hang it off of one arm. I dust off the fashion mannequin, so I don't have to wash dust out of the dress. I drape the dress over the mannequin, I step back and observe it making sure of my decision.

“Yeah ruffles on the cuffs.”

The dress wasn’t super fancy all by itself, it was a simple gown meant for hard work. But what I saw coming together was a multipurpose gown. With the neckline staying the same height but modified to come to a point in the middle with a clean edge. Ruffles or lace would cause irritation to the skin, not meant for working. The sleeves were short, so they were already out of the way. The ruffles would compliment the short sleeves, and for the baggy waistline...I think a belt would work perfectly.

I get to work, sewing all through the rainy night. If I knew what was happening in the next few days I think I would have gotten sleep while I could…

-

It was a bit chilly in the morning, and the birds gossiped about where the best worms were. I wrapped my shawl tighter around me, the cloth over my horns blocking some of the wind. The wet ground damping the sides of my boots. I stopped by Ms. Lix’s house and knocked, there was a quiet shuffling and then the door opened to a excited Ms. Lix.

“Oh thank you dear! It looks lovely!!!”

She rips it out of my hand and holds it in front of her figure, I hear louder footsteps come from behind her. Strong tanned arms circle around her waist, a strong bearded face settles on her shoulder. He had just cut his beard so it was not hanging down, but was a clean layer of hair on his jaw. He looked at me blankly, his brown hair tied up in a bun today.

“Hello Mr. Lix”

“Hmm.”

“Oh come on dear say hello! Also how do you think this will look on me?”

“It will look fine.”

He glances away, Ms. Lix can’t see the small blush on his ears.

“Humph! Fine then I will ask the prince when he comes through and I'll wear this!”

He hugs tighter startling Ms. Lix. Nuzzling into her neck he whispers something and Ms. Lix flushes up.

“UHHHHH- Lina dear thank you for getting the dress done so quick, ah!- ummm I’ll see you later!!!”

She quickly shuts the door, startled by her husband's sudden affection to her neck. I chuckle to myself. So I started my walk to the bakery, interested in what was going to be the sweet of the day. There was a quiet bustling through the town, I noticed a crowd ahead. Girls muttering amongst themselves, mens chests puffed up, children looking at the well dressed men in awe. Kingsmen.

“Thank you for gathering! We have a small announcement here! Come over here beautiful maiden!”

He pointed to me, a few people looked back and smiled encouragingly, seeing the shy ram that moved here only a little while ago. I blushed slightly from the rare compliment and moved forward to the front of the crowd. These Kingsmen were a different sector, they all had smiles on their faces. They all looked at us with appreciation and awe, the one younger one was glancing at me, shying away with his eyes.

“Thank you for gathering! We have a few things to talk about. I believe you were one of the main people attacked right?”

He looks at me a frown now adorning his face. A small gold crest of ram horns above his heart, showing his rank as a captain.

“Y-yes…”

“I am very sorry about that, we didn’t pay attention to what Sector was assigned where. That is our mistake.”

He jumps down from his horse handing the reins to another Kingsmen.

“If there is anything we can compensate for this town we will do so. The royal family sends their personal apology!”

People gasped, shocked that their small misfit town got the attention of the royal family. The captain put his hands on my shoulder.

“Again I am very sorry one of our men was so disrespectful towards you. They have been taught to never grab a lady unless they allow it. They are being punished as we speak.”

He gives me a small smile and pecks my cheek, a sign of apology and respect. He mounts his horse again and the Kingsmen tense up, predicting what will happen next. One of them covers their ears, as if they have done this multiple times already.

“And for the announcement, I know this town isn’t the most fond of the royal family…”

He starts to become hesitant.

“But the prince will be arriving today.”

All of the Kingsmen's hands flew up to their ears in time. Screams of women, shouts of men, crying of frightened children. Women flee the streets, forgetting chores and jobs. Men shout at the defenseless Kingsmen. Mothers attempt to calm their children as they jog away from the scene.

“THAT IS ALL! THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!”

The captain rides out of town along with the other Kingsmen, no crowd chases after them.

Poor guys

I chuckle a bit and continue on my way as men scatter getting back to work. The street was silent, no woman out to gossip today. It was almost as if the announcement was a curse, the memory of my grandmother's curse comes to mind. In the end it really was real, people treated me like dirt because they didn’t believe I would be able to activate the curse. It may have taken a few years but it finally took effect. Right when the Prince came through and unsealed my grandmother's home.

I see the familiar alley and go down it, opening the door and getting hit with the fresh smell of bread, meat, cheese, and vegetables. A unusual mix for Mr. Reeds bakery, today was special.

“Mr.Reed! I’m here!”

I pull on my apron and tie it in the back. Mr. Reed was slicing some salami, he looked up at me.

“Ah Lina, perfect timing! I’m sure you heard the announcement, they came to me first and asked me if it was okay if I fed the Prince and his companions. So we are making sandwiches for about 10 hungry soldiers! They should be arriving soon, so if you could get the rest of this stuff prepped that would be great!”

“I can do that, also we might not be getting any other customers today…”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well...remember the last time, women wouldn’t have a choice to refuse the prince's proposal…”

“Oh. Yeah...they do have a choice actually, it's just that it would be extremely embarrassing to reject the prince.”

“That's true.”

“Well I better get out there, I will tell you when to start the orders!”

“Understood!”

Mr. Reed heads up front, I grab the knife and continue to slice up the salami. I slice the cheese and the lettuce. I slice the bread in half ready to be stuffed, I mix the mayonnaise up to make sure it is fluffed up. I hear the front door’s bell ring, the sound of laughing men and women enter the shop area and filter into the kitchen.

“Ahh! Prince, nice to have you here.”

“Please stop being so formal! Can’t I get some sort of casual conversation!?”

“Well the fact that no one is allowed to know your name makes it hard-”

“Shut up! Gahhhhh….that stupid city of Lethan drove me nuts….”

“Well that one guy did dare spit at ya…”

“All because of a stupid superstition! God almighty…just please get those sandwiches out...I need some good food right now and not 3 tiny little scallops.”

“Alright, what would you like on yours?”

“Salami, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and some mayonnaise.”

“LINA YOU HEARD HIM RIGHT!?”

Mr. Reed yells to the back, hurting my ears a little.

“Loud and clear with your normal voice Mr. Reed!”

I hear laughter and snorting.

“So there is a lady out working today, it's like i’m the plague!”

“Well there was that incident with the Kingsmen a few days ago…”

Mr. Reed talks to himself. The Prince’s rough voice speaks up.

“Wait, what did the Kingsmen do? Was it the Sector today?”

“No no no! They actually came to me first about your arrival. It was the sector a few days ago, they kinda terrorized the ladies...and my employee personally…”

“So they broke some of the top rules!? Were they punished?”

“Yes, they were and they sent us the current Sector today. Honestly these guys were sweethearts, the other guys got chased out of town by all the men in the village.”

Laughter blows through the shop, all the knights and sires bursting into laughter as I finish the Prince’s sandwich.

“Mr. Reed, the prince's sandwich is ready!”

He pushes aside the fabric and grabs the big sandwich out of my hand, making sure the plate is also big enough for it.

“Nice job Lina! Here's your sandwich Prince! It’s not much for a humble bakery but hopefully it holds you over.”

I hear the crunch of the lettuce, and a soft moan of appreciation afterwards.

“God this is the best I've had, fuck I might need another one.”

“Watch the foul language prince, we don’t want this chapter to be labeled mature because of your swearing.”

“The duck!?”

“Anyway, what would you like to order? We also have some fresh Tomatoes for you to choose from.”

“Well in that case i’ll have what the prince is having, Jay here is a vegan so he wont eat the meat, right Jay?”

“Yeah, i’ll just go with a lettuce and tomato sandwich please!”

“Coming up!”

I grab the washed tomatoes, slicing them into halves to make it easier.

“Alright, while Lina works on that i’ll tell you what I know about the ladies here since they are in hiding.”

“That would be appreciated.”

“Well most ladies here are already married, so that's over half your options.”

“Greaaatttttt. Let me guess, a quarter of them are too young.”

“Actually yes...how did you know that?”

“Institution, what's the other ones I can’t marry.”

“Well, we have a lesbian population, and a trans-male population.”

“So how many are straight?”

“About 20.”

“What am I supposed to do with only 20 choices!?”

“Your highness, there is another woman, she's just a bit...I don’t know if you would even consider her…”

“At this point fuck it! I’ll look at the cutest guys and grab one of them!”

I laugh, I understand his frustration but seeing a random scowling face side by side with an adorable teenager just cracked me up.

“Haha-ow FUCK!”

I feel a stinging pain and the warm flow of blood. I drop the knife and suck on my finger.

“Uhhh, Lina...you okay back there?”

“Yeah i’m fine, just got distracted.”

“Don’t tell me you bled onto my wood cutting board again?”

I look done at the tomato juice and blood covered board.

“I did…”

“LINA!”

“I’M SORRY!”

“THIS HAS HAPPENED 20 FREAKING TIMES!”

He stomps into the back.

“God Lina you need to watch your fingers, I swear I might need to have my wife put you through a knife camp!”

“What's going on back there?”

“Sorry my employee has cut themself, I need to treat them quickly.”

“We have a first aid kit here, the medicine works pretty fast.”

“Oh thank you! Lina get out here.”

I try to resist but Mr. Reed drags me out of the back. The prince stares at me in awe. A guard hands Mr. Reed the first aid kit.

“Okay sit down Lina, let's get this treated and then you're blazing through to get those sandwiches done.”

The prince was still staring at me. His silver eyes wide, his short black hair spiked out everywhere except the top of his head. His black suit adorned with silver and gold, fitting for royalty. But a small red glow emitted from underneath his suit. He abruptly stuffed his hand into his suit and pulled out a necklace.

It glowed red, its eyes staring at me with determination, it’s horns ready to charge, its jeweled chest shining proudly. The vile of my grandmother's potion glimmering behind it.

My Grandmother’s ‘cursed’ necklace…