The next morning saw Ryan waking up, once again in his female form. Strangely, it didn’t bother him much. The only thing bugging him about this form was the possibility of being discovered. As for the form itself, he’d grown used to it, and had even become a bit curious. He’d thus taken some time to get accustomed to it yesterday afternoon, from behind his room’s locked door.

Ryan had spent the afternoon and a part of the evening learning what he could of his new condition. When he’d changed back to go and eat with his parents, the spell’s strain had been lessened, though it was still slightly stronger than when he’d first cast it. That probably meant he’d have to spend a regular amount of time in his girl form to counteract the effects of the spell, unfortunately. It was a complication, sure, but that discovery made Ryan somewhat happy. He was used to difficult situations, having hidden his magic for years, and knowing by what rules he was supposed to play by did a lot for his frazzled mind.

His parents hadn’t said anything to him the whole day, and supper was spent quietly, the sound of the TV filling the silence in the room. Ryan and his parents never talked much, communication had long since been severed by years of unresolved conflicts. It seemed coming back early had satisfied them for now. Still, that didn’t mean he could go back to the way things were yet. He’d need to keep being well-behaved for a while. He just hoped they wouldn't do anything drastic in the meantime. His dad's words still echoed in his head. Things are going to change.

Another thing Ryan had done that day was taking a look at his new form. With all the anxiety of the past few days, he’d never had a calm moment to truly observe what he looked like. Standing in front of the mirror in his room, Ryan had gazed at the girl that was looking back at him.

She was very pretty, her innocent face had been staring back at him, her face covered by light freckles. She’d looked very innocent, her face a mix of confusion and awe. Bright wavy ginger hair had framed her face, ending slightly above her hips. That had been him, Ryan, in the mirror, and that fact still astonished him. He’d confirmed this form was smaller than his original one, being about a head shorter. Ryan had tried thinking of a name, but nothing pleased him, and he’d given up after a while. If everything went as expected, he'd be rid of the bracelet in a couple days anyway.

Now the morning after, Ryan was eager to get started on his day. Today was a Friday, which meant the weekend was nearing. Two days of respite from his new set of problems. He couldn’t wait for it to be the evening, when he’d be done with school and at home, where he didn't have to keep the spell active.

Fortunately, the day passed much faster than the previous ones did. With his new knowledge, some of Ryan’s confidence had returned. A problem presented itself at noon however, when Ryan concluded that his spell was pulling too much magic for him to sustain the whole day. He needed to transform back, even if for a little while, if he wanted to make it until he got home. This meant he’d have to be in his female form in public, where he could be seen.

Plain as they were, the odds of someone recognizing Ryan’s clothes were slim to none, but he didn’t like taking any form of risk. Still, his only other option was to lock himself in one of the school’s dirty restrooms for the duration of his pause. The idea didn’t excite him at all, especially since he’d probably have to take on his female form every day at noon from now on, if today’s strain on his magical reserves was an indicator of things to come. He could also ask Becker if he could get him an empty room somewhere in the school, but that meant relying on the professor every school day, which was out of the question.

Resigned, Ryan made his way outside. There was a park not far from his school. He’d go there, transform, eat his lunch, and come back for his afternoon classes. As he was making his way there, Ryan worried about how he was going to transform without being seen. He’d figured he’d just look for a place out of sight, but what if there wasn’t one ? Improvising definitely wasn’t his style, and he could already feel how bad of an idea this was.

Ryan’s fears were confirmed once he arrived. The park was a pretty open place, with a couple of benches scattered around, and people were there, enjoying the last sunny days before fall truly settled. The only place he could spot was a couple of bushes standing on the far side of the park, away from where most people were enjoying their day. Out of options, and soon to be out of time if he didn't make a choice, Ryan set off towards the shrubs, kneeled behind them, and transformed after having made sure no one was looking in his direction. Feeling a bit ridiculous, Ryan stood up and went to sit down on an unoccupied bench, pulling his lunch out of his bag.

He looked around, fearful someone might notice anything was off about him, but quickly realized nobody was paying him any mind. He was just another person in the park, no one cared his clothes were too big, and that he had just come back from behind some bushes. None of them probably noticed these things, but to Ryan it felt like anyone might uncover him at any time. To them, he was just a regular girl, and that thought made him feel very conflicted.

Once he’d had time to calm down was sure no one would call him out, he started eating his lunch. He even managed to relax after a while, his worries momentarily forgotten. It was a nice day, and Ryan was surprised to find himself simply enjoying the weather, basking in the sun. All in all, Ryan spent a very nice lunch break.

Ryan didn’t encounter any problems when it came time to leave. He managed to turn back without any fuss and the strain on his magic had lessened enough that he believed himself capable of holding the spell until he made it back home.

Working in class was even easier in the afternoon, Ryan finding himself easily focusing on his work, the tiniest of smiles tugging at his lips. One thing he did notice, however, was that Sarah kept glancing at him during class. Their talk from yesterday came back to his mind, and he wondered what was up with her. As she kept looking in his direction, Ryan realized she wasn't looking at him, but rather towards his wrist.

Ryan's blood ran cold. She'd noticed the bracelet, but how was that possible? Becker had always told him that people couldn't see magic very well, like their brains ignored it, yet Sarah seemed perfectly capable of looking at his bracelet. She'd even commented on it yesterday, but he hadn't noticed, anxious as he had been! Could she be magical and have never noticed?

Glancing back at her, Ryan noticed that she looked confused. He didn't know what to make of that. Ryan tried hide how tense he suddenly was, but he was almost certain Sarah had noticed. She’d told him herself she was a pretty observant person, and he’d been really bad at keeping his emotions in check ever since he’d been cursed with that bracelet.

What was he going to do? He didn't know what she was thinking, but he knew that he had to do something. Did he go and try to talk to her? That definitely wasn't something he was very good at. Ryan’s mind was spinning, and he wasn’t able to work at all for the rest of the afternoon, his good mood having vanished completely. Each glance Sarah sent his way only served to make him more worried.

When classes were finally over, Ryan still didn’t know how to proceed. His mind was desperate for a solution that didn’t involve his secrets being found out. He needed more time to think, and so he nearly rushed out of the classroom, hoping to get away before Sarah could come and try to talk to him.

“Ryan, wait!”

To no avail, it seemed. Ryan kept walking, pretending he hadn’t heard her, but she seemed determined to talk to him. He could hear her almost running behind him, he had no way to avoid the confrontation.

“Ryan!”

“Sorry Sarah, but I really need to go,” Ryan said, looking at her over his shoulder, not quite masking the anguish in his voice. With a bit of luck, she’d think it was because he was in a hurry.

“No, Ryan, please! This is really important. It’s about your bracelet.” She said, sounding a bit desperate.

Ryan’s heart was drumming in his chest, he was desperately trying to keep a neutral face, and failing miserably.

“I’m sorry, I really can’t talk right now. See you.” With that, he started running away, but not before glimpsing a very troubled look on Sarah’s face. What did she know? He’d panicked.

Ryan went back home, adrenalin still coursing through his veins, and doubt weighing on his mind. That could definitely have gone better. He’d have to figure out a way to manage the situation before Monday. If Sarah was able to tell the bracelet was magical, his only solace would be that she was one of the rare few who could. Even if she talked about it to someone, they would most likely dismiss it as nonsense.

Could she use magic? It wasn't impossible, but then why didn’t she say anything the first time they’d talked? She’d already commented on the bracelet then. Maybe she’d noticed something else since. Ryan wasn’t sure what to make of the confrontation.

Fortunately, Ryan didn't get any more surprise afterwards. He spent Friday afternoon and Saturday getting used to his new form, and studying whatever he could about the bracelet. He also looked online to try and see if he could find anything about it, but his research bore nothing. He’d expected it, but had felt like he needed to at least try. The old man had said he hadn’t learned much about the bracelet when it was in his possession, and it had seemed he had access to a lot more research material than Ryan did.

Finally, Sunday came. Ryan drove his car to Becker’s house around mid-morning, as was usual for them. He picked up the professor, who was carrying a suit bag full of who-knows-what, and they drove towards the forest, away from their small village of Eriz. Not much was said between them, they rarely talked, and Ryan was too nervous and excited to attempt small talk anyway. Becker was his best hope of learning about his curse, after all.

Once they were back in the clearing, Becker pulled out a myriad of items from his bags, setting them down on the ground. Many of them were instruments Ryan had never seen, and he could only guess at the purpose of most. At that moment, Ryan felt a bit as if he was back in the Antique Shop, surrounded by knowledge. This time, however, he was with Becker, which meant he’d probably keep wondering.

“Sit down. This is going to take a while,” Becker said, in his usual monotone.

Ryan did as he was told, sitting cross legged on the ground of the clearing. The following hours were of great interest to the young man. Becker pointed items at him, cast some spells he’d never seen, and did many other incomprehensible things. He also regularly asked him to transform back and forth. From time to time, Becker would take notes on a notebook he’d brought with him, though Ryan couldn’t read what was written on it. Fortunately, Ryan had thought of a way to bypass the professor’s secrecy. While Becker wasn’t looking, he cast his sight spell, his vision overtaken by strips of color and light particles, magic becoming clearer to his eyes. He could see Becker’s spring of magic, the energy within his body, pulsing and obeying its master’s commands. He could also see the patterns forming, the way all the trinkets interacted with the energy around, or with Ryan’s magic.

Some items prodded at his magic in general, while others were taking a more focused interest. Ryan was almost certain he’d seen the exact moment Becker had found the link between the bracelet and his magic. He’d noticed one of Becker’s tool interact with the link, and the professor’s eyebrow had risen just the tiniest amount. The moment after, Becker did something to the link, and Ryan could feel something painfully pulling at his spring. Seeing the young man’s discomfort, Becker had quickly stopped, and written something in his notebook. Becker also asked Ryan to transform back and forth at times, probably comparing the readings of each form, seeing whether there was a difference between the two or not.

A few hours later, Ryan had learned a lot. He’d managed to memorize part of Becker’s spells, and even guessed at the properties and uses of some of his tools. He’d once again learned more in a day than he’d had in months prior. He wouldn’t be able to cast any of what he’d learned, unfortunately. He’d need to see the spells again to complete his knowledge of them. Casting an uncomplete spell sounded very dangerous, and he didn't want to find out what would happen should he try.

Becker had stopped prodding a few minutes ago, stuffing all his instruments back into his bags. With a sigh, he stood up and looked at Ryan, who did the same.

“This is probably the most complex artifact I’ve ever seen. I’d never heard of anything even remotely similar. I wasn’t able to learn as much as I would have wanted, but it’ll have to do for now. I’ll see if I can find anything else. Here is what I was able to assess:

“The bracelet is, by normal means, as good as unbreakable. It’s made of what I assume is steel, but there are a lot of protections woven around it. If I am right, a power tool would have a hard time cutting through it, and even then whatever little damage it made would fix itself fairly quickly. Even if we were to cut your arm, I believe the bracelet would still be attached. It might just go to your other arm.”

Ryan shuddered at the thought of sawing his arm off, but kept quiet. Becker continued. “The reason it wouldn’t come off is because it’s attached to your magic. I’ve looked at the link between the two, and I see no way of severing it without potentially killing you. The link also serves as a siphon. It feeds on your magic to make the bracelet function. If we come back to the idea of trying to cut it off, it would probably exhaust you, as the bracelet would need more energy to sustain itself, and thus would take yours.

“The last thing is that this artifact is so complex it could very well have a sentience of its own. I can’t be certain, it could be that the fluctuations I felt within were coming from your consciousness, carried through the link. Or, it might have a proper will, which would make removing it unadvisable. For now, this is all I was able to find. I believe we’re still very far from taking it off, Ryan.”

Ryan’s heart sank a little bit at that piece of news. He’d hoped all his problems would be over after this weekend, that he could just go back to school without the bracelet, tell Sarah it had been nothing, and move on with his life, but no. The bracelet was here to stay.

Deep down, he'd expected these news, but he'd wanted to believe everything would be fine. Ryan didn’t say anything, just nodded sullenly. Wordlessly, Becker made his way towards the car, and Ryan followed after him, his eyes downcast. They drove back in silence, as was usual. Ryan dropped Becker off at his place, and then went back home.

It was still relatively early in the afternoon, but Ryan didn’t have the heart to do anything. Locking his room’s door, he dropped on his bed and turned back into his female form, the strain on his magic going away.

His mind was going back to Sarah. Tomorrow, she’d surely come talk to him, and pester him with questions about the bracelet. The way he saw it, his life could very well be over tomorrow. He needed to figure out a plan of action, think about what he would say to her, the lies he could feed her. He needed to think about the bracelet, what it would mean for him on the long term, the adaptations he’d have to make.

But Ryan didn’t want to do any of that. He was tired. Tired of keeping secrets, of living a lie. He stayed in bed for the rest of the day, hoping for a miraculous solution that never came.