We had been discovered, our gay little display of love had been seen by another who knew we were boys, and more importantly that we were students at the academy. I should have changed out of my uniform, though I had not thought ahead to actually bring any spare clothes… but Notalie’s home was literally a boutique, so why did I not think to ask to borrow or buy something? Panic began to flood my brain with adrenaline as I thought of everything I could potentially say to avoid disaster, all while Isabel had quite a different reaction.

“The hell you call me? I am wearin a dress buddy, I’m a girl!” She barked as she stood and turned herself in the direction of the stranger's voice.

“Oh my gosh I am so soo sooo sorry!” A rather short young man with a porcelain mask covering the upper half of his face bowed his head repeatedly as the hood of his oversized cardigan flapped behind him, “Aurora’s going to be really mad if she finds out I misgendered a transgirl…geez I’m mad at myself, honestly, I am really sorry miss.” He continued to apologize profusely, filling me with second hand guilt at seeing him so distressed.

“Hey, hey, don’t gotta beat yourself up so much,” Isabel sighed, “apology accepted, you can stop now, like seriously.”

The boy prostrated himself and smiled a cute wide smile, “hey, hey, wait a minute, Bonbon? Cupcake? Right, that’s your girl’s name’s right?”

He knew my nickname, a name only Isabel called me till recently, but how could he possibly know that? I did not recall seeing him when I was being introduced to Delli, and I certainly do not recall Isabel calling me Bonbon while we were eating.

“Cupcake? Huh?” Though Isabel again had quite a different reaction, perhaps because he was so wrong about her name, “I mean that’s pretty cute, but it’s def not my name.”

“Oh, hmm, wait, don’t tell me, Isa, no… Isabella?” So close, it was as if he was a somewhat ineffective psychic with the power of nearly guessing names. While not quite right, his guess was enough to change Isabel's expression from confusion to one of disbelief, “hehehe, I got it, right?”

“I mean, almost, I’m Isabel,” she introduced herself with a hint of skepticism in her voice.

“Of course, and you are Bonbon, right? Or maybe… hmmm, Odette? Aida? Eve?” Aida was another surprisingly close guess.

“None of those, Isabel calls me Bonbon, though I wonder how it is you knew that?”

His smile grew wider, he snapped his finger, and gave a self satisfactory chuckle, “I can always spot a Bonbon or a Cupcake a mile away, doesn’t matter the world, I'm always going to find you!” He was an exceedingly odd fellow, but I did not sense anything malicious about him. Aside from initially calling us both boys, he seemed as though he was a pleasant friendly individual, or at the very least he meant us no ill will. I would even go as far as to say he was happy to have found us, though I was worried as to why he would have been looking. 

“What the hell you mean ‘I can find ya in any world’?” Isabel glared at him with a fierce fire of suspicion blazing in her eye.

“Oh, huh, I thought this world was connected to the v-space, was I mistaken?”

“We have access to v-space,” I answered, “but what does that have to do with your statement?”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, I shouldn’t interfere with you too much anyway. Still, I am really glad I got to see you again Bonbon, and of course I’m always happy to see you too Cup…uh, Isabel.” 

“Umm, okay, you too dude,” Isabel stood there perplexed.

“Aha, now you got it wrong, Imma girl too ya know,” the stranger laughed as though she had just scored a point in some weird game of gender guessing, “but, I guess I am also a boy, or neither sometimes too, and both… really just depends on my mood.” I was not sure who was more confused, Isabel, me, or the stranger. With awkward tension rising, they laughed nervously then bowed their head again, “anyways, you two are adorable together as always, good luck and take care!” Saying that last bit they scurried off out the door.

“Hey, ummm Delli, do you know who that was?”

“The weird person in the mask? Nyope, nyotta clue,” she answered then pressed her finger below her lip as she thought, “hmm, though, they did feel familiar somehow, like I met them before, but, like maybe not?”

“Yea,” Isabel agreed, “very familiar…” I would have said that made absolutely no sense, but I had the same feeling. In fact it was the feeling I had felt since first coming into the little cafe. Either I was going crazy from all the new information that had been filling my brain, or some strange form of magic was at play. Magic was impossible in our world, or at least the Shepherds taught such, still I like to believe it still existed here. What other explanation could there be for everything that had been going on that entire time we spent in that little cafe?

“Hey, Bonbon, you ready to get goin?” Isabel asked, shaking off what had just happened. I nodded my head and we left, bidding Deli goodbye on our way out.

As we walked together, Isabel reached for my hand and I faltered for a moment, worried that we would be caught by another who’d recognize us as students at the academy. I really should have brought a change of clothes, but our trip out to the city was so impromptu that I had not really thought of it. I believe Isabel had sensed my hesitation, retracting her hand and lowering her head. Torn up by the guilt of having disappointed my girlfriend, and emboldened by a desire to make her happy, I leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Had my face not already been red from the cold winter air, I’m sure it’d have turned all sorts of shades as she leaned in and kissed me back.

My mind was so preoccupied with the little public display of love we just shared, that I had not even thought about where we were going, and before I knew it Isabel had led me into a small little park. Icicles hung from naked trees as snow dusted their barren branches like sugar atop a powdered treat. Green bushes emerged from mounds of snow, wearing caps of white of their own. The whole area was illuminated by old fashioned gas lamps, shining dimly in the early nightfall. And in the center of it all was a simple little pond, just barely frozen over. It was a cute quaint little park, its layout almost reminiscent of my garden back home. 

“I’m gonna be honest,” Isabel started to say as she stood behind me and wrapped her arms around my sounders, “I really wanted to ask you out here, but I guess I got ahead of myself last night,” she chuckled.

“Well, come to think of it, I don’t believe either of us actually asked the other out yet,” I smiled and placed my hands on hers as I leaned back into her embrace.

“You wanna be wanna be my boyfriend then?”

“Nope,” I answered sticking my tongue out.

“Huh? You… but?”

I turned to face her, and booped her nose, “I want to be your girlfriend silly.”

“I want to be your girlfriend too,” she said, kissing me on the forehead.

 

***

Walking back to her mothers shop, I clung to Isabel to stay warm in the ever-dropping temperatures. If her body heat was not enough to keep me warm, then the excitement of holding my girlfriend would. I had hardly a care, compared to only a short while ago, I was lost in euphoria spurred on by our declaration of love. Girlfriends, that sounded even better than boyfriends, it just felt right. Nothing in life could possibly bring me down now, I thought as we held each other on that pleasant little snowy walk.

“So, you managed to stay out of trouble while I was gone?” Isabel asked, clearly joking, but in doing so she reminded me of one thing I had very much needed to care about.

“I uh, well, mostly,” this day was way too perfect, I did not wish to spoil it.

“Huh? Mostly? What, did you wear slightly too short of shorts for regulation?” she teased, squeezing me even tighter in her strong embrace.

Mincing my words, I tried to find a way to tell her without worrying her, but how does one go about saying ‘I challenged another noble to a duel for your honor’? So, I fumbled around a couple ways to try and say it, “I simply had a verbal altercation with a rather unpleasant individual who was spreading slander about you while ridiculing you for activities you may or may not have been partaking in secret.”

“Verbal alter what? Silly girl, are you sayin people are startin rumors ‘bout me? What, did someone catch me wearin a dress?”

“Wait, you do that too?” I was far more surprised than I should have been.

She nodded, “I’ve done it a couple times, but like not all the time,” she chuckled, “every now and then when you’d have me stay away from the room I’d try on one of the outfits I helped my mah design.”

“I cannot believe it, I was also wearing a dress all those times!” 

“Yeah, I know silly,” she kissed my forehead, “I figured that one out a long time ago.”

If I was not careful, being around Isabel would permanently dye my face red, “you, you knew?”

“Mhm, I figured it was probably the one you bought when we met,” she gave a sly cheeky grin, “pretty good detective work don’tcha think?”

It was far less detective work, and more that I was perhaps the most obvious and oblivious person in the whole wide world of Anarchia. We were getting off topic though, and I decided to steer course of the conversation back into the matter at hand, that is, coming clean to Isabel, “so, once classes start again I am fighting another student in a duel.”

“Like to the death?”

“What? No, of course not, such duels are illegal under Shepherd law. Till he yields, of course,” though to be fully honest, a part of me wished the former could be the case, though perhaps that was just a little evil of me. 

“But why? What’d he do?”

I wanted to spare her feelings, not let her know that a gaggle of students had been mocking her behind her back, but I also thought it would be best she knew the truth, “it is as I said, he was mocking you. Spreading a video among the students of you doing some rather embarrassing things in the woods. Something about a ‘cursed eye’ and the Goddess Isarael.”

She rolled her eye and sighed, “damn, thought I broke that jerks phone,” she smiled at me and pressed her cold little nose against mine, “defendin my honor, gawd you’re so fricken cute Bonbon!”

“I just, I could not let, I just… nya!” Oh no, Deli’s quirk had already rubbed off on me, I could not think of anything else to fill the silence when my words failed me.

“You’re adorable I love you, holy crap you’re so cute!” She showered me with even more praise as she hugged and kissed me all over my face.

“Fatherless behavior, how disgusting,” a deep irksome voice growled as a tall slender man with silver hair passed us by.

“Hey fuck you buddy!” Isabel snapped at him, and he merely smirked and continued on his way, paying us no further mind. “Gawd I hate people like that, just mind your own business asshat.”

“Perhaps you should not be so quick to retort,” I warned, “you do not want to draw more ire that could escalate into a fight.”

“Says the girl who’s about to duel someone in my honor,” she had me there, I was a hypocrite. Regardless, I believe it was sound advice, though I suppose she was not the type to hold her tongue. Maybe if I was lucky I would get to hold it instead…Gah, ignore that I said that!

 

When we arrived at Notolie’s shop, Isa grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the backroom, which had turned out to be a little workshop of sorts where Notolie and Isabel most likely made the clothes they sold there. Tables with fabrics, sewing machines and all sorts of little bobbles took up the bulk of the space.

“Alright, so, after we met that first time, I had been sketchin up a design, and I think you’re gonna like it." She brought me to a mannequin that sat beside a pinboard filled with sketches and doodles.

"Is that, me?" I asked, examining one of the most prominent sketches on display.

"Ignore that!" She redirected my attention back to the mannequin, "check it out, it's almost finished." The dress in question was an adorable puffy black lolita style dress accented by blue lace and an oversized pink bow. The chest was like a corset with white ribbon laced in a crisscross pattern that went down to the waist. Cute little bows ran along the bottom of the skirt, alternating pink and blue. And beneath the dress was a frilly black and white petticoat. 

"It's adorable, who is it for?"

Her face was dumbfounded, "wha? Really you don't know?"

I stuck my tongue out at her, "I am teasing you silly, even I am not that dense." I was lying, I initially did not know until I saw her reaction at my dumb question, but of course she did not have to know that, "it is quite beautiful, if this is unfinished then I can not wait to see the final product. Although, to be quite honest I am unsure how I would pay you for this."

"Oh is the prince hard up for money? Too bad I guess."

"Huh, no I…"

She poked my nose, "just teasin you," wrapping her arms around me she pulled me into a hug, "I know I gave you a present already, but this was the actual gift I wanted to give ya. Though obviously I wasn't gonna do that before you came out ya know?"

"Well, I love it, and I love the gift you did give me as well, they are both wonderful," I felt entirely too spoiled, she had given me so much and I had nothing to offer her. Honestly, I almost felt sad, even though I should have been happy. Imagine being the prince and not being able to buy presents for your girlfriend? It was shameful, I wished I could do better.

Perhaps she could sense my confliction, perhaps being empathetic to my thoughts, because she took my chin in her hand and gazed into my eyes, "you know, you gave me the best gift."

"I did?"

"Mhm," she nodded and brought her lips closer to mine, "your love," it was a very cheesy line, but I would be lying if I said it did not make me happy.

Returning to her home above the shop, we walked up the stairs, giggling without ceasing, giving eachother quick little kisses on the face. I simply could not wait for the dress to be completed, the anticipation of getting to wear it was jumping around in my head. My coming dule was the farthest from my mind as I simply enjoyed my time I now had with my girlfriend. I would have been far too glum had I let myself focus on anything other than that current moment, even if the sad reality we would have to return to school nagged at the back corners of my mind. No, it was not the time to think of that. It was a time to be happy and gay, and to give Isabel as much affection as possible before we would have to go back to hiding come the holiday's end. 

"You're back, did you have fun?" Notalie's wide smile conveyed a sense that she had known exactly what we had been up to.

"We did, I took her to the Cafe and park~" 

"Mhm, of course you did," she nodded with approval, "and you were a good girl?"

"Maybe," Isabel smirked, "oh hey, is the guest room all set?"

"Oh about that, I actually have a guest staying the night already," Notalie laughed, "why are you against sharing a room with your roommate?"

We both blushed as Isa gave her answer, "we'd have to share a bed though," it was not like we never did that before, but letting her mother know we did was honestly too embarrassing.

"I trust you girls," Notalie's faith in a person she has only just met felt honestly too naive, though to be fair, I really would be too embarrassed to do anything more than simply cuddle anyways. "Besides," she added with a snorting chuckle, "it's not like you can get her pregnant anyways."

"Mom!" Isabel whined as I nearly blacked out from the immense amount of blood rushing to fill my cheeks. 

"I kid, I kid," she waved her hand, "but you don't," that pun was a total miss.

"Mah, quit teasin, don't we get bullied enough at school," she may have been joking, but she was not entirely wrong. "Oh, wait, who's the guest you got stayin?"

"A recent friend I made, they're from very far away and don't know too many people. I found the poor cutie just sleeping on a bench in the cold."

"Mah, are you invitin more homeless people in again?"

"It worked with you," she winked, I think.

"Bfft, I mean, okay, fair."

"They're not homeless perse, they even have a job lined up," she informed her, "but untill they start that they don't have anywhere else to stay so I figured I would lend them a bed as I had a few to spare."

"Hey my bed is not a bed to spare, so you got one," Isabel rolled her eyes, "well where is this guest anyways?" 

"They're in the kitchen whipping up some dinner for us. They volunteered as a way to show their appreciation," she gestured towards the kitchen, "apparently they used to work in a Bakery as a hostess of sorts. I don't know if that translates to cooking, but it is at least food adjacent."

It was while the two were talking I noticed a strange object sitting on the coffee table, a very familiar porcelain mask, one without eye holes of any sorts, that would only cover the top portion of a person's face. A very odd object to have seen twice in one day…

"All ready~" a sweet voice chimed from the other room.

"Oh no," Isabel went pale as a ghost the moment the guest emerged with a plate full of some odd looking pastries.

"Oh, hey it's Bonbon and Cupcake!" The stranger from the caffe sang cheerily as they saw us, "oh I never introduced myself, my names Vox, but you could call me Voxie~"

"Mother, may I have a word with you in private," Isabel sounded the most proper I had ever heard her.

"Oh am I in trouble?" The woman joked standing up and following her daughter through the door.

"Want some?" The stranger, Voxie, held out the tray offering me the almost muffin shaped food.

"Umm, sure," not entirely sure what to make of the situation, I accepted their offer. Despite it's shape, it was most certainly not a muffin, or a confection at all. The crust was more reminiscent of fried dough, crispy and just slightly covered in a thin layer of grease. Had it not been rude, I would have considered not eating it, but I already accepted and so I took a bite. "Oh, okay," the texture was crisp and the flavor salty, sweetened by a warm tomato sauce that poured from the center of the treat.

"You like it?" They gave a wide adorable grin, "it was my specialty back at the bakery. I call it a pizza-cupcake," the name was hardly clevor but certainly accurate. It was in fact a little pizza-like food in the shape of a cupcake. 

"What kind of bakery did you work at?" I asked before taking a second bite.

"It was kinda like the one we met in actually," they answered taking a seat in one of the armchairs and setting the tray on the coffee table, "but it's been a long time since I worked there. It just wasn't the same after Cupcake left."

"That's what you called Isabel, is Cupcake a friend of yours?"

They nodded, "I guess you can say she's one of my girlfriends, and I was her lil femboyfriend."

"Femboyfriend?"

"Well, I'm like kind of a boy, kind of a girl, so I like calling myself a femboy," they swayed back and forth and kicked their short little legs as they talked, "but that's not important really. To answer your question, Cupcake is a very special person to me, in every incarnation and every world." Again they talked as though they had been to other worlds.

"What happened to her?" I felt invested in learning about this tiny odd girl… boy? Person's dilemma. 

"She left to find someone, and now I have to find her, but I think I know where she is. Sadly I can't go after yet cause there's something here I have to find first," it sounded like this Vox person was doing a lot of searching, it was a little hard to keep track of.

"Well I hope you find it, and her, and that she finds who she is looking for," yes, it was rather convoluted, but I could understand the feeling of longing. I longed to find another person like me for my whole life, only having fulfilled that when Isabel and I met.

"I've been doing a whole lot of backtracking to get her, but she's obviously been here already, so I'm gonna have to come back earlier if I can, but figuring out time in the void is complicated. But first I gotta find a heart." Such an odd thing to say…

"Metaphorically?"

"Literally," they took a bite of one of the pizza-cupcakes, "but don't worry about that. I'm sure I'll find it."

"Uh huh," I was lost, but at the very least I could say that Voxie was amusing. 

"Hey, wanna see something cool?" They asked with a cute lil sparkle in their eyes. Eyes I had only just then noticed were mismatched like my own, though also not quite the same as a demons. They were purple, with a pink ring around one iris, and a blue around the other. It was actually really pretty. 

"Um, sure?" I was so caught in their eyes, I almost forgot what their question was.

"Okie, cool, I learned this little trick a while back," they hopped off the chair and approached me, "relax and don't worry, you'll be safe," they meant to sound reassuring, but honestly their words only made me more nervous. Pressing their forehead to mine they placed a finger on my chest, "hold your breath," they instructed and I complied. Their fingers pressed into my chest, quite literally, their hand entered into my chest as though they were pushing their hand through a stream of water. Remaining calm and holding my breath had become a lot more difficult as I felt them squirm into my body. Oh, actually no, I did not feel it, I was only imagining the feeling, oddly enough it was painless. I did however feel a strange sort of tugging feeling, like they were pulling on a thread that connected to my heart. And then the world was blank.

I blinked several times before my eyes reimagined focus. I was in the woods, though not any that were familiar to me. The shape of the leaves on the trees was strange, and the depth of green in the plant life was so rich it was almost surreal. I held a golden rapier in one hand, and a strange object in the other, while a small trickle of blood ran down my arm. I was in the midst of battle, flames burning around me as several warriors laid motionless in the wreckage, reeling from the aftermath of some sort of attack. I looked around wildly trying to get a better grasp on just what was happening when I saw a girl with silver hair and long pointy ears step in front of me. She wore a purple hooded vest that had long ears like a rabbit’s, and bore a sorrowful face that uncannily resembled my girlfriend. 

“Isabel?” 

“Eve, stand back, I’ll handle this,” she said to me as she stood between me and a shadowy man who emerged from the fires. I tried to call out her name again, but I fell silent right before I watched the world go black again.

Gasping for air I awoke back in Notalie’s den, sitting in the chair with Voxie still pressing their head to mine.

“So, pretty cool right?” They pulled their head away from me and smiled.

“What…. What was that?” I took big deep breaths as I spoke, “who were they?”

“That was another world, you were seeing it through the eyes of another version of you.”