I’m all Ears
“How about you try changing into your cursed form now, oko. Let’s see if you changed there too.”
“Sure, but you have to put me down first.”
“Oh, yeah you’re right. Sorry, I’m too accustomed to carrying you at this point, haha.”
Closing my eyes, I imagine turning into Scarlet causing me to turn back to my cursed form. My clothes follow suit without problem.
Opening my eyes again my body stayed mostly the same with the exception of my ears now being Elf ears and my hair now being so long it reaches down to my butt. It honestly looks a little goofy with how I resemble an Elf now but still have this ugly human face.
“Wow…Oko, if it weren’t for your face you’d look extremely handsome.”
“Right? It’s a little weird to be honest…What do you guys think?” I ask as I turn around.
Looking at everyone, Scarlet looks a bit distraught, Sher Aka looks mesmerized and John looks confused.
Sher Aka is the first to act and quickly walks over to me putting her hand on my left ear, “I think this suits you. How do you feel?”
“I don’t really feel any different.”
“That’s good, I’m glad you feel normal.”
“How about you manya, what do you think?”
“I…I…I’m going to the toilet to wash up for a second. I’ll answer after I’m back.”
Scarlet then quickly leaves our room.
“It must have been really urgent if she needed to go this quick. Hey John, could you check if she maybe ate a snack that dragons can’t eat? The last time we came here they had some snacks we couldn't eat.”
“Sure…Let me check. Nope, all seems fine.”
“Are you sure? You barely looked.”
“Trust me, I’m sure.”
“Hmm…Okay. So, what do you think about how I look now?”
“Honestly, you look weird and a bit uncanny. It’s like an Elf who swapped faces with an ugly human. It’s a complete mismatch.”
“Right? You’d think pretty hair would make it better but somehow it’s worse.”
“It does have an upside though. When you wear your mask everyone will think you’re handsome.”
“That’s true I guess.”
I then close my eyes and turn back to my small form, “How about in this form? Does it look weird?”
“Hmm…Maybe a little strange but you still look really cute. I wouldn’t say it makes you look better or worse, you just look like a mixed race now.”
“Alright, thank you for being honest as always, John!”
“You’re welcome.”
—-----------------------------------------
Meanwhile in the bathroom Scarlet splashes cold water on her face and gives herself a pep talk in the mirror, “It’s just a set of ears. It doesn’t mean she’s from that family. So stop acting like this and comfort your sister!”
Looking down at her shaking hands she slaps herself, “Stop being stupid! Even if it’s them you’ll figure something out! You always have! You can protect her from them, you’re a proud Dragon Princess! So, stop acting like a little girl quaking in her boots and give your baby sister the comfort she needs right now!”
—---------------------------------------------
Scarlet then comes back with a bright smile on her face as she picks me up and starts licking my face, “I love you, Rose.”
“Hahaha. I love you too, manya! You seem really relieved now, did you get it all out?”
“Yes I did.”
“That’s good, so what do you think of the ears?”
“Hmm…They look strange but I will get used to them. I don’t think they make you any less pretty than you were before.”
“That’s good. And how about my cursed form?”
“To be honest it looks a bit jarring.”
“Yeah I agree, it looks really weird. But John did say that I’d probably look handsome with my mask on.”
“You’d look like an Elf though.”
“I guess that’s true. Do you think it would be bad to make people think I’m an Elf when I’m actually a Dragon?”
“Nah…It’s a disguise, no one should get mad over you being able to disguise yourself really well right? Also it’s not like you chose to have those ears.”
“True.”
“So, do you have the confidence to go to the playground now?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then let’s go.”
“Wait before we do, can you put me down? I want to say goodbye to Miss Kongque.”
“Sure.”
Walking up to Miss Kǒngquè, who has been silently observing the whole situation, I give her a hug and say, “Thank you for making me look pretty Miss Konque.”
“You’re welcome, your Highness.”
“Alright manya, we can go now!”
“Let’s do just that then. Goodbye Miss Kǒngquè. I will make sure to mention your name anytime someone asks about her dress.”
“Thank you, your Highness, have a pleasant day. I recommend you follow our staff out the back entrance if you wish to avoid meeting our other guests again.”
Going out the back we move to Middle Park. As we join the busy streets again everything is loud. It’s like I can hear every conversation around us going on at the same time, that paired with the strong smells is absolutely nauseating. There is so much going on it makes me feel like I’m in pain despite there being no one that’s harming me.
“Ro…”
It feels like I’m alone in this world of sounds and smells and I’m being comp-
“Rose!”
“Huh!?”
“What’s wrong? You’re whimpering and you weren’t responding.”
“Everything’s so loud, manya. And there are so many scents too. It’s painful…”
“Alright. Shield your ears for a bit, we should get to the park soon, it’s more quiet there. Just try to endure it until then.”
“Okay. whimper”
“That’s not necessary,” Sher Aka answers. “Put your hands off your ears for a second.”
I do so and Sher Aka puts a yellowish brown thing in my ears dampening out the sounds from the outside, “Does it feel better now? Or is it too tight?”
“No…I feel okay again. Did you put a magical item in my ears?”
“Haha. No, but it does feel like it doesn’t it? It’s just bee’s wax. I use it myself in busy places like this. Our ears are really sensitive, some of us have even better hearing than some beastfolk known for their keen ears. So, bee’s wax is a necessary item every Elf carries around when outside their country or during festivals and party’s.”
“Wait…” Rayla ponders, “Is that why Elves are known to be so grumpy and not join bar trips and parties?”
“Hmm…Perhaps, yes. They’re just not good places for us. We prefer quiet music played during pleasant conversation in small gatherings.”
“Wait! Is that why you’re grumpy all the time John!?”
“First of all, quiet down. Second, no. I’m grumpy to the core. As a Half-Human Half-Elf I don't have such good hearing. It’s better than a human’s but not so good that it gets distracting.”
“Hmm…So, best of both worlds, huh?”
“I guess…Though as a child I always wanted to have ears like my mother or Sherry. But for both Humans and Elfs their ears are dominant traits so when they have children the traits tend to combine into the slightly more pointy Human-like ears I have.”
“Sorry John, I didn’t want to break open old wounds.”
“It’s fine. Having ears that are seen as Human ears has the upside of not being called a knife ear…Also Elven ears are a bitch to clean. One time Sherry got thrown some juice in her face and she had to spend like ten minutes washing out all the sugar from her ears.”
“Tiahaha, you remember that, John?”
“Of course I do! I slapped that bitch’s face for you after all.”
“You really didn’t need to do that.”
“I know, but I wanted to. That bitch really thought she could just throw juice on you while you were minding your own business just because her boyfriend couldn’t look away from you. Like, honey…No one’s going to steal your man from you, especially not Sherry.”
“Hmm, Sher Aka?” I ask.
“Yes?”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Not at the moment, no.”
“John told me before you weren’t interested much in men, does that mean you’re into women?”
“Ah…No. It’s true that I have no romantic interest in men anymore but that doesn’t mean I have an interest in women.”
“Anymore? Did you lose it? Are you cursed too!?”
“Ahaha no, nothing like that. It just became very hard for me to be close to men after my time as a slave…But that’s nothing for you to worry about!” She then pinches my cheek, “Little Princesses like you should worry about themselves, not the love lives of adults!”
“I just wanted you to be happy like Rayla. She seemed really happy after meeting with her boyfriend so I thought maybe you could use one too.”
John begins to laugh loudly, “True, Rayla’s boyfriend sure is a nice guy. Why don’t you show him to the family, Rayla~?”
Rayla seems a little angry as John brings that up, “Because…We broke up. That’s why.”
“Wait! Ane, you broke up!? When? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay. We broke up a while ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Was it…Was it my fault?”
“No! Not at all it was a mutual break up!”
“Really? Why did you break up?”
“Be-because…Because he was addicted to raisins!”
“...”
“Really?”
“Y-Yep! Put it in all his food and couldn’t stop. I just thought it would be too dangerous for us to live together and he agreed.”
“Ah…That makes sense.”
“It does? I mean of course it does, kekeke.”
John's laughing becomes louder again.
“You shut up, John!”
“Oh~ Make me, Ms. Raisin.”
“Oh? That’s not the only thing I’ll make you, I’ll even rip you a new one!”
“Only if you catch me first!”