Shared plight

Kelly sighed deeply, letting go of his skirt so that it fluttered around him. He may be able to move, but he was trapped on this shelf, like an actor denied of breaking character and leaving the stage.

What was he supposed to do? Trapped in this feminine guise, the size of a doll? Nothing in the knighthood had prepared him for this.

Glancing out over the room, he could see the vanity where the Lady Amber must do her sprucing up every morning. The mirror was just barely angled such where he could make out his tiny reflection. A tiny princess clad in pink stared back over the wide empty space of the room between them.

She looked so helpless. Kelly’s first instinct was to ride to her side and beckon her up onto his horse as they rode for safety, only the problem was the damsel in distress was him. Kelly couldn’t decide if the other squires would make fun of him if they saw, or if they were so flustered by the presence of a lady they never even knew it was him.

Kelly took the skirts and swished them about a little. The pretty reflection mirrored the motion. He’d wondered what it was like, wearing a dress like his own Lord’s daughter after the day she visited the training yard, but he didn’t think he’d actually ever find out himself.

Kelly realized what he was doing and froze, blush and embarrassment filling his cheeks after getting lost in the surreal atmosphere of his situation.

His eyes caught sight of someone else in the reflection. Right, the gardener! Kelly turned around, looking over to where she was posed. Again lifting his skirt to ease movement, Kelly crossed the model bridge over to her.

Her brown hair was long, curly, and decorated with flowers down her back. An apron was tied around her waist and over a dress a bit too fancy for actual garden work, but Kelly got the feeling that was by design based on the large red bow that went around the waist. He drew closer, admiring how well made she was. Her tan skin was smooth and shiny, lips full with dark lipstick and soft green eyes adorned in charcoal and black lashes. She was pretty, though he wondered how so much detail had-

Kelly froze. Lazaro had said that Kelly was not the first. He said he’d punished others this way. Was the gardener one of them?

Kelly put his finger to his chin, looking her over. What should he do? How could he test it? Should he…bonk her on the head like him and see if she moved?