The Magician's Assistant Again

"Ladies and gentlemen," announced Zora. "Allow me to present my lovely assistant... what's your name again?"

"Emily," said Emily, stepping forward onto the stage. She looked out into the audience, and gulped. This was the midday show, and the crowd was getting bigger, so being the centre of attention made her quite nervous. "Um... hi, everyone."

"Let's hear a round of applause for Emily," said Zora, flashing a dazzling smile. She was a tall, pale, raven-haired woman in dark eyeshadow, a top hat, a tailcoat, a black leotard and fishnets, and she blew the audience kisses in response to a few scattered claps. "Now, Emily, you're new, so I'll start you off with something simple. Do you think you could pull a rabbit out of a hat for me?"

"Um, I don't know," said Emily, truthfully. She'd never been able to figure out how magicians do that trick. Or any other trick. "I'm not really very good at magic."

"Don't worry. Even a complete idiot should be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat. You'll get it right. I mean," said Zora, "it's not like you're a complete idiot."

"Of course not!" said Emily hotly. "I'm... I'm really smart!"

"Good. Then you'll have no trouble. Here you go."

Zora whipped the top hat off her head, and held it out. Emily looked down into its dark, forbidding depths. She couldn't see a rabbit in there, but she couldn't see anything else, either.

She reached into the hat, and pulled out something soft and smooth and warm. She held it high, for everyone to see. "Ta-da!" she cried.

She heard a ripple of laughter. She looked at Zora, who was smirking. She looked at the object she held in her hands.

"Oh, no!" she said, loud enough for the people up the very back to hear. "That's not a rabbit! Those are my panties!"

"I've never seen anyone do that before," said Zora, amused, as Emily turned away from the audience. She hastily struggled to pull the errant garments back up her legs, bending at the knees so nobody could get a glimpse of her bum. Modesty preserved, at least. "But, Emily, if those are your panties..."

"Yes?"

"Where are your pants?"

Emily blinked in surprise.

Then, she grabbed the hem of her shirt, and pulled it as far down her thighs as it would go. "I don't know," she said, in a small voice.

"Did you forget to put them on before you came on stage?"

"...no."

"Are you sure?" said Zora, sounding smug, as Emily stood on stage in front of dozens of people in nothing but her T-shirt and red panties, using both hands to conceal her underwear as the whole front row ogled her long bare legs. "You'd have to be a complete idiot to forget to put your pants on before you came on stage, after all."

"...yes."

"Then somebody must have magicked them away," said Zora. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll turn up again soon. It's time for another trick!"