The Little Glass Slipper

Chapter 8: Him.

Charon spent that night alone in the attic. Selene didn't appear again, since Charon's transformation. But as Charon opened his wardrobe, he found brand new clothes, clothes that belonged to a male body. His old clothes were gone. The slipper was the only female hint that remained.

He left home. He couldn't face Mame Treina, nor Selene, let alone Dradel. With only a single bag as his luggage, Charon left the town, and wandered into another. Never in his life had he been in another town before, and once he did, it seemed to be an entirely different place. The man glanced around. Somehow, he was going to find a way to get by.

A month later, this was how he lived.

Charon was known to be a charismatic idler who lived with his lover. The ladies, while talking amongst themselves, often compared him with Prince Charming. The two were different, yet somehow had a similar air about them.

"You look beautiful today too, Lauren," Charon told his lover as he kissed her on the cheek. "I wonder how many men will take note of this today," he added as a teasing remark.

It worked, too. Lauren's cheeks reddened as she gave him a timid smile. "Thank you."

Charon waved at the girl as she closed the door behind her, leaving for a party at a certain lady's home. His playful grin vanished as soon as he was out of her field of vision. In the rare hours that Lauren wasn't home, he did two things.

First, the market. This was a routine that hadn't changed, despite the transformation of his gender and identity. He was not married to Lauren, but she was the daughter of a rich enough man, and a man that spoiled her too, by all means. Nonetheless, even without the aid of Lauren's father, there wouldn't be a problem.

"Good morning, Charon!" the women at the market greeted him in enthusiasm, given that he was technically the only male that ever did grocery shopping.

"Good morning, ladies. How is your day going so far?" Charon offered a captivating smile, quietly thanking the women again as they, in turn, provided him with free items.

"I didn't see you yesterday, where had you gone?" one asked. "Is everything fine with Lauren?" asked another. "You're such a ladies' man, does Lauren never get jealous?" "Oh but, Charon, you are such a considerate man, she must not mind your popularity much."

Charon chuckled. "That's too many questions for me to answer all at once," he commented. "Lauren and I are doing well. We merely spent the day at home relaxing, yesterday. There is no need to imagine too much."

When he finally got home, it was almost late afternoon. The free items he received from the women would last another week. "If only doing grocery shopping was that easy back then..." he mused.

Then, Charon went into his room, and stood in front of his wardrobe. He opened the doors, and reached deep inside. Yes, Lauren lived with him, but she wasn't interested in his wardrobe. There he retrieved a box. He unlocked it and opened the lid to reveal one glass slipper.

"Selene," he murmured.

He had done this on many afternoons, but this was the first time he got a response. Charon felt a pair of slender arms snake around him from behind, and he knew at once that they did not belong to Lauren. Startled, he turned around.

"A charming man you have become, Charon," Selene noted. "Do you like your new form?"

"It's useful," he replied, pulling her close as if that would keep her from fading into thin air. In his mind, he knew that the faerie came and went as she pleased. His reflex didn't seem to understand that.

"You've gotten bold, too, haven't you?" Selene asked with a faint smile.

"Certainly." This was true. "Selene," he began.

She looked at him expectantly.

"With this form, aren't there some things that we can do now?"

Rather than giving a direct answer, the faerie leaned in, and their lips met. He didn't question why she hadn't appeared before then, he didn't ask about Dradel. She didn't question his way with ladies, she didn't ask about Lauren.

But she appeared from then on, every day that Lauren was gone.

ŅZ_