The Necklace

"Sunny my ass!" Sara Jenkins cursed the people responsible for predicting the weather. She had checked multiple sources and all weather reports had said today would be sunny, with an occasional light breeze. Apparently no one had bothered to tell that to the weather, though, because it was starting to rain, and Sara was just one of many people caught completely unprepared. She desperately searched for a place where she could take cover until the rain stopped.

"Magic necklaces? Is that some sort of shop?" She wondered as she caught sight of a small sign above a door. "Well, better than staying in the rain." She rushed to it and walked through the door, unsuspecting what a huge impact this decision would have on the rest of her life.

Inside the small shop was brightly lit - almost as bright as the day had been before the rain clouds had covered the sun. The shop was small and was selling nothing but necklaces. On every shelf Sara looked at there were various necklaces and nothing else.

"Welcome." A woman greeted her - apparently the shopkeeper. Sara's face turned bright red as she took a look at her. The woman was wearing a see-through dress showing off her impressive bust and her lack of underwear - no bra, no panties, nothing.

"Do you like what you see?" The woman asked her and Sara realized that she had been staring at the woman's breasts. Her face turned even redder while the woman laughed. "No need to be embarrassed, my dear. If I didn't want people to look I would not be wearing this dress. Anyway, let us get to business."

"Y-yes, let's" Sara struggled to focus on the shopkeeper's face and for the first time noticed her long black hair ans her blue eyes. "So you sell necklaces?"

"Yes, but not regular necklaces." As she said that the woman took out four identical-looking necklaces and placed them on the counter before Sara. "Each one is special in its own way. For example, this one here will allow you to fully control one person, as long as you continue looking at the person. This one, on the other hand, will allow you to freeze time for a bit. The third one will allow you to read people's minds and discover their secrets. And the last one will allow you to change your appearance at will. I have many others, but these four seem best suited for you. And before you ask - yes I am completely serious." The woman smiled at her.

"No offense, but... I find that very hard to believe. I mean, mind control? Stopping time? Reading thoughts? Changing my appearance? Those things exist only in fiction!"

"Oh? Is that so? Why are you naked, then?"

"What? I'm not-" The words died in Sara's mouth as she looked at herself and saw that she was indeed naked, her clothes on the floor next to her. "What the-"

"Something wrong, my dear?" The woman asked, not even trying to hide the amusement in her voice. Sara looked at her... and blinked in confusion. The woman was gone!

"Looking for me?" A familiar voice came from behind Sara, making her jump in surprise and turn around.

"Yes, I made you strip for me. No, I did not teleport. I just froze time for a few moments." The woman answered the questions before they were even asked. "Anything those necklaces can do I can do too - and a lot more. Plus I have fewer limitations."

"Limitations?" Sara managed to ask while her mind was struggling to understand what was going on.

"Each necklace works only as long as you wear it. If you take it off its effects stop immediately. Also, as long as you are using the power of your necklace it will drain your energy, causing you to feel more and more exhausted, until you faint from exhaustion. At that point it stops working, as if you have taken it off. Last, but not least, some people are protected from the effects - like me, for example." The shopkeeper paused for a few moments, allowing Sara's mind to process the new information. "Naturally such powerful items are expensive and I know you can't afford the price at this time. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to let you take one of these necklaces. You will have one month to use it and earn enough to pay for it. If you fail you will become my for a month. And no, I'm not going to tell you how much you must pay - it's more fun this way." The woman smiled at Sara. "So, which one do you want?"