Working things out
Well it is not like you have to make a decision right this very second. You can find out more details first before you make your choice.
“So I am famous now?” you ask him. “That is what I wished for.”
He nods. “One of the fastest females in the six to eight furlong category. Plus you’re one of the few centaurs to have come out from the forest.”
“How many centaurs are there?”
“No one is certain of the numbers in the forest but maybe a hundred or so in the cities. The other races even less. The shapeshifters though , they are hidden so no one knows their numbers.”
“Well, they’re shapeshifters. Heck, for all I know you’re one!”
“I’m not, I promise.”
“Uh huh,” you say, your voice dripping with mock suspicion. “Anyway, let’s see if we can find that genie bottle again. If you become its newest owner then maybe we can undo this, and still have a wish or two for you!”
He smiles “The chances of finding it again are quite low. They tend to disappear when the wishes run out.”
“Yeah, this one did too. Hmm…” You try to think of a plan other than ‘find another genie lamp.’
“Sometimes though they stick around to watch the fun. They generally don’t give out wishes while they do though.”
“Or a wizard,” you say. If genies and magic are known, you figure there must be a few wizards around. “We could hire one of them.”
“Perhaps, you are a centaur and wizards would like to research them. They are so few though and mostly caught up in their war. Don’t worry, it is on another plane so we do not get many effects here. And if that doesn’t work there’s another possibility… though I’m kind of reluctant to suggest it.”
“What’s that, hon?” Hon? Where did that come from?
“A gypsy,” he says hesitantly. “They’re good at curses.”
“You want to *curse* me, now? Isn’t this enough?”
“No, no, hear me out,” he says. “Genie wishes are hard to undo. Everyone knows it. The magic is powerful. But curses are also hard to undo, as part of the nature of being, well, a curse. The power of a curse - a curse to be a male human - might be enough to overcome the genie wish that made you into a female centaur. Then again, it might not, and magic interacts badly at those levels when it doesn’t work.”
“How badly?”
“Real badly.”
“Oh.” You think a moment. “Hey, what about dragons? They might know a cure. They are probably the most powerful mages around, if we can find one and get it to listen to us.”
“Maybe. And there is a legend about centaurs. A man rode his horse through a river and when he came out he had been fused with his horse. All centaurs are said to be descendants of him.”
First time you’d heard that one. “Okay… so?”
“I’m sure it wasn’t just a regular river. But maybe if you find the right one and walk through it you’d separate? Or walk through it backwards, or… something,” he finishes, a little lamely.
“Well, it’s something to look into, anyway,” you say, trying to sound hopeful.
“So,” your husband says, crossing his arms. “Which should we try first?”
Written by Catprog and Xodiac on 30 November 2013