Late one night, just as I was planning to go to bed, I answered a knock on my bedroom door to find Bliss there.
“Uh, listen,” she began nervously. “I need to pick up Celeste’s medication and I need someone to come with me. I would normally take Anise, but she’s out with friends. Would you possibly be willing to help me out?”
I felt a twinge of excitement at the possibility of helping out, shoved aside my questions of why she needed someone to go with her to the pharmacy, and eagerly replied “Sure.”
As excited as I was for the opportunity for conversation during the ride, I quickly found myself unable to think of a subject. It felt as though I had something important to tell Bliss, but whatever it was escaped me. I became so focused on this that I almost missed the fact that we were pulling onto the interstate.
“Which pharmacy are we going to?” I asked.
“We’re not going to a pharmacy,” Bliss replied matter-of-factly, her nervousness gone now that I was committed to helping her.
“Oh, is this some kind of Hidden World medicine?” I asked. However, we weren’t heading to the enclave, either.
Bliss nodded, her eyes locked on the road ahead of her. “It is. The place we’re going is a little...not dangerous, exactly, but it’s better to go as a pair so we can watch out for each other.”
That sounded dangerous to me.
“There are a few rules, too,” Bliss continued. “First, don’t eat anything. Second, don’t touch anything. Third, don’t tell anyone your name. Actually, it’s best if you don’t talk to anyone at all other than to politely decline anything they offer you. Finally, don’t tell Celeste where we went. In fact, don’t bring up this trip at all. You know what? Make that the first rule. Move the rest down a slot.”
That made it clear that wherever we were going, there would be fairies. I felt a wave of apprehension as I recalled Celeste describing, in longing tones, the terrifying, enticing power fairies had.
We pulled off the highway near the river and parked next to a pastry shop. We got out and she led me down a walking path along the river. I found myself continually glancing around, looking for some sign of anything out of the ordinary, but all I saw was the deep blue of the world at night.
We reached an area where the path led downward, dipping below a bridge. When we reached the underside of the center of the bridge a breeze kicked up, bringing with it the smell of baking. As I wondered how the scent of the pastry shop had made it this far, Bliss stopped suddenly, touching my shoulder. She gently guided me in turning back the way we came. Then I saw it.
The path we had walked was gone; replacing it was an enormous cavern, lit by lanterns that seemed to float in the air. Looking carefully, I could see that the top of the cavern was not entirely rock, but also had rows of enormous roots, wider than I was tall, weaving their way across. Spreading out across the cavern were dozens of wood-and-canvas stands, like a flea market.
The crowds were like the pages of Allie’s books spread out before me. Fantasy creatures of all kinds made up both sellers and customers. There were elves, goblins, ogres, and dozens of varieties I couldn’t even name. In the Enclave, strangeness dotted the landscape, but here it dominated it. I stared slack-jawed for almost a full minute before Bliss poked my shoulder, guiding me forward.
The first stand we passed was manned by an anthropomorphic dog who was selling what appeared to be copies of famous paintings with the subjects replaced by dogs to a group of excitedly shouting buyers.
“Why is everyone so excited about those paintings?” I asked.
“My theory? They’re all working for him and trying to make other people think there’s something special about them,” Bliss responded, continuing to push and refusing to let me slow my pace.
The next stand was run by a small figure wearing a thick cloak that completely obscured their features. They were selling various skins.
“Is that one a human skin?” I asked, horrified. I stopped to stare at it.
Bliss sighed. “If you’re going to ask questions about every merchant, we’re not going to get anywhere. Just follow me and make sure I don’t get distracted.”
She took the lead, continually glancing back to make sure I was following. I tried to focus on her and ignore what was around me, but my eyes kept drifting to groups of tiny people selling various computer parts, people with bird wings selling books and CDs, and walking skeletons selling other walking skeletons.
“Cupcake?” a voice asked as a cupcake was shoved in front of me. The speaker was a woman with blue skin and a sharp-toothed grin.
“No, thanks,” I replied.
“Come on, doesn’t it look delicious?” she asked. It was yellow, with sprinkles. It did look tasty, but the smell was even more appetizing than the look. Apparently her stand was the source of the scent I had noticed earlier.
“It does, but I’m not really hungry,” I explained.
The woman frowned, sadly. “You’re sure? You really don’t want it? Why doesn’t anyone want it?”
I felt a stab of guilt. I hadn’t forgotten Bliss’ rules, but I didn’t want to be rude or disappoint her. I stared at the cupcake, deliberating.
“Ross!” Someone grabbed my wrist and yanked me away. As I stumbled, I looked over to see Bliss leading me forward.
“Sorry. Sorry,” I said.
“It’s okay. Just remember the rules,” she replied, not slowing.
As we squeezed our way around a group of ogres who had decided to sit together and eat some bread, taking up most of the aisle, Bliss found the stand she was looking for. It was covered with a green tent. She pulled back the flap and led me inside, revealing a dark room choked with the smell of sage. Rows and rows of nearly-spherical bottles glowed with liquids of various colors. The merchant was a short man with pastel pink skin.
“Aaah, that’ll be Bliss,” he said with an Irish accent. “Is it time for a refill already?”
“It is, indeed,” Bliss replied with a nod.
He ducked behind his counter and popped back up with a clear glass jug full of a pink liquid which matched his skin. He set the jug on the counter.
“Here it is. And the payment?”
Bliss pulled a folded piece of printer paper out of her pocket. “Right here. One hundred social security numbers.”
She handed him the paper and picked up the jug.
“My pleasure, as always,” the man said.
Bliss smiled. “Thanks. See you whenever we run out again.”
With our business concluded, Bliss led me back out through the market. We found no trouble on the way back, though I briefly locked eyes with the cupcake girl as we passed her stand. We made it to the entrance of the cavern and then we were back under the bridge. Once again, Bliss halted me and we turned around to find the original path had been restored.
She was looking tired, so I offered to carry the jug as we made our way back to the pastry shop. She put the jug in her trunk before turning to face me.
“I imagine you’ll be wanting something sweet after that?”
I nodded.
“Me too. Lucky this place stays open late.”
At the pastry shop, I ordered a cupcake with yellow frosting and Bliss got a blondie. We ate there, sitting in their thin metal chairs and enjoying the old-fashioned aesthetic and soft music.
“What happens if you eat the food?” I asked, finally.
“Dunno,” Bliss admitted. “But it’s a bad idea to take anything without knowing what you’ll be paying for it. Plus for all you know it could have been enchanted or something. Or it could taste too good and you’ll end up like Celeste.”
I scrunched my face, trying to understand. “Like Celeste how?”
“She spent years eating milk and berries from another world. Food that brought her ecstasy with every bite. Her sense of taste is basically gone. Every meal is like sand to her now.”
I felt the blood drain out of my face. Had I come close to losing an entire sense? It was a relief that the cupcake I was currently eating was merely delicious.
“I’ve thought about picking something up for her,” Bliss continued. “But a sorcerer told me that her sense of taste should come back in time. I haven’t studied magic, so I took his word for it. But it’s been so long that I’ve begun wondering if he was talking out his ass.”
“Why haven’t you studied magic?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m an engineer. Science is consistent. It makes sense. Magic contradicts itself all the time. It’s too frustrating to figure out.”
“But...but…” I struggled to find the words. “It’s magic. Magic is real. It can do anything. How can you not want to know as much about it as possible?”
Bliss smirked. “Aaah, I forget that you haven’t seen much of the Hidden World. First of all, it can’t do everything. It can’t fix Celeste’s sense of taste. Or her broken heart. Second, Magic is mundane. It’s just part of regular life here. When you first learn about it, yeah, there’s a burning desire to know as much as possible, but eventually it just becomes a part of life unless you end up dedicating yourself to it. I don’t want to study magic now, but I know it’s there if I need it. There’s a sort of quiet comfort there, one I didn’t have before becoming part of the Hidden World.”
It made sense to me. Now that I was part of the Hidden World, if I needed something magic could provide, I could seek out someone capable of it. I didn’t need to study it myself to be able to benefit from its existence. However, that didn’t mean I was done with my questions.
“Did you pay that guy in social security numbers?”
Bliss nodded. “Yeah. I get them from work. I guess it’s like a ‘true name’ kind of thing. Gives him power over those people.”
“But isn’t that going to be a huge problem for those people?”
Bliss sighed. “Ross, we’re villains. We do bad things. Yeah, I imagine those people are going to face identity theft or have their firstborn children stolen or whatever, but I can’t exactly let Celeste go without her medication. The world is a nasty place. I’m just trying to keep myself and my friends alive and healthy.”
We fell silent as we finished our pastries and made the drive home. Once there, Bliss led me to her room and showed me where she kept Celeste’s medicine, in a small safe. She showed me how to measure out a dose of the potion, using a test tube, then handed me an extra key to the safe, explaining that I would need to give Celeste her medicine once a week if she and Anise were ever unable to.
“Not to sound lazy, but why can’t Celeste do it herself?” I asked.
“There’s a bit of a euphoric side effect to it. Fairy enchantments can be a bit like a drug in that respect. They make the enchanted person feel excited or content. With this potion, that euphoric effect usually wears off within a day or two, but Celeste is fairly depressed the rest of the time and she has a history of taking too much to try to recapture what she felt when she was with her mistress.”
I nodded. It made sense. The temptation needed to be kept out of Celeste’s sight and reach.
“But what does it do?” I asked.
Bliss bit her lip nervously. “Well, I suppose it’s okay if I tell you. Celeste is pretty open about it anyway. She’s trans. This potion is, well, it’s basically her HRT.”
I frowned, trying to understand. “Trans? Like transgender?”
“Yep.”
“Celeste used to be a guy?” I asked, way too loudly.
Bliss gave me a withering look. I immediately realized that I had made a mistake. “No. Celeste is a woman who was born with a phenotypically male body which causes dysphoria, which she treats with a shape-altering potion.”
I nodded, silently swearing to research transgender people later to avoid making more mistakes. “I see. I guess magic would be the only way to really change sex. That must be why she—er—he looks so good.”
Bliss’ annoyed look deepened. Before she could say anything, I blurted out “I’m sorry.”
“It’s ‘she’,” she said, ignoring me. “And just because she passes doesn’t make her any more of a woman than any other woman, trans or cis. And magic is not the only ‘real’ way to transition. You don’t even really need to be part of the Hidden World for that. The methods available to the wider world aren’t perfect for everyone, but they’re plenty for a lot of trans women. Myself included.”
I paused in my cringing repetition of “Right. Of course. Sorry,” to look up at her. “You’re trans too?”
Bliss’ face softened a bit. “I am. And many of my friends are, too. The Hidden World tends to draw us. Even if mundane methods of transitioning physically are enough for us, access is still limited and the world is a cruel place. Many of us seek relief in the hyperadvanced or the supernatural, and some of us actually find it.”
I understood. I had noticed before that people outside of the Hidden World treated transgender people like garbage. I had always imagined that being one must be a nightmare. It was nice to know that some of them found solace in the Hidden World. Still, I found myself left with a nagging question; did Bliss have a penis?
