Poisoned Lips

33: Cinderella potion

. The next day, Freyja, Devland, and Azalea were gathered on the kitchen floor. Freyja munched on her cookie while Devland and Azalea stared at her.

"Can you chew any faster?" Azalea asked.

"...No." She responded, her mouth stuffed.

Devland cleared his throat. "So...any new updates on your mystery translator?"

Freyja swallowed. "Yes. By tonight we should have the complete stone inscription translated... Tomorrow morning, we should be able to pinpoint the location of the cure."

"Hopefully this time your translator doesn't suddenly have an accident." Devland grunted.

"Shut up."

"Skies, Freyja, finish your damn cookie so we can drink the potion and let it develop in our body before evening."

She shoved the last one in her mouth. Azalea prepared three cups and poured a purple liquid into them. She sprinkled different flowers in each and stirred them with a wooden spoon.

They held the cups in their hands.

"If you gag, you take over washing duties for a week." Azalea announced.

It can't be that bad...

Freyja threw the liquid down her throat but it went back up. She slapped a hand over her mouth and forced it back down, shivering in disgust.

Devland gagged. His eyes watered as he tried to swallow the liquid.

"Skies, Azalea, what did you put in there?" Freyja asked.

"...you don't want to know."

Devland grumbled. "It better be worth it because It felt like I just drank shit."

Azalea laughed. "He isn't too far off with the ingredient!"

Freyja's face dropped and Devland's morphed into horror.

"Don't worry little birds," Azalea sang. "You will love your new look."

****

Heavy silence reigned as Devland, Freyja and Azalea observed themselves in the broken mirror of the small bathroom. Their reflections were merely a blur, caused by years and years of dirt stuck onto the mirror. Freyja stopped to think for a moment as a blue eyed girl stared back at her. It was terrifying.

Devland let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you serious, Azalea?" He asked. "I look like Lila's potential brother."

"That was the look I was going for!"

Devland was now a ginger haired boy with freckles covering his face. It looked wrong. His piercing blue eyes had transformed into a flat hazel color. It was almost like a film was placed over his eyes.

Azalea on the other hand had bright pink hair. Her eyes were black, completely black. When she smiled, her eyes looked lifeless.

And finally Freyja. Her short curly hair became a long and straight platinum color, falling just above her waist. Her dark brown eyes were the lightest shade of blue she'd ever seen—almost white.

"A siren," Azalea said. "I wanted you to look like a sea enchantress."

Freyja closed her mouth, unable to formulate anything. She looked foreign. She touched her face, the face she had avoided looking at for weeks, until today. Enchantress. She inspected herself closer. Brown skin, small nose, big eyes with horrific eye bags, prominent cheekbones. She bit her dry lips.

"I don't hate it," Freyja finally said. I like me.

"We need to come up with back stories!" Devland exclaimed. "I'm going to be a fisher man—the son of a fisher man. My parents are both alive but they have a terrible cold so they can't make it to the festival. I'm also engaged to a beautiful woman named...S—Salma?"