Jane's Father stood before the wall of living wood, his hands on his hips. "Now you've upset the Druid. How are we supposed to lift that curse?"

Jane rolled her eyes. Her father could be so annoying. She mirrored his pose, her own hands going to her hips, "Dad, weren't you listening, I'm not cursed, I'm a girl."

"And you're happy about that are you?"

"Well, no, not exactly." she said, "Though I'm not unhappy about it either."

Her Father grabbed her upper arm in a vice grip. "We'll just see how you like it then. If you wanted to be a girl you will act like one. We'll she how long before you're praying to the gods for a cure. Maybe they'll even hear you."

His piece said, father dropped her arm and headed towards the village, waving for her to follow.

"I didn't ask for this." Jane yelled, "It just happened."

They headed hubwards, through the village square. The Greenway House and workshop lay on the other side of the creek, the only house further out was Mr Skinners tannery.

The village green was surprisingly busy today. Every woman in the village was present. They clustered around cottage doors, or happened to be passing by. Only the fact that this was a work day prevented the entire village from being there. Most of the men having not heard the news yet.

Jane rubbed at her arm and kept her eyes down not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. Every movement reminded her how the broom had transformed her. The way the britches rubbed against her thighs. The way her chest moved under her shirt reminded her of what George had said earlier. There was a reason girls seldom came out wearing only one layer. She folded her arms to cover her breasts.

Many of the villagers didn't even bother to whisper as they discussed the news of Jane's changes. Several girls and young women where clustered at the edge of the stone fountain, whispering behind cupped hands. Jane looked for Becca, but didn't see her.

The fountain was Lambford's one curiosity. Every visitor to the village stopped to see it. Far too grand for a village green, what with its carved stone walls and the intricate concentric bowls, the fountain gurgled happily year round. Even midwinter when the creek itself froze thick enough for skating. Sir Lamb had erected it many years ago at the request of his new bride.

Lady Lamb had been younger than her husband and had the willowy figure and delicate features that were expected of a high-born lady. Not made for this world, her mother said. She had died in child bed not long after, and her lord had followed within the year. Becca declared the tale tragically romantic. When none of the boys in the gang got it, she shrugged and said it was a girl thing. Now that Jane was a girl she still didn't get it.

The enchantments that maintained the fountain's temperature flared in her magical sight. Everybody thought the runes that wove about the fountain where what kept it running. They were not, the power came from something inside the stone. How Strange, she thought, why bother carving the runes if they were not needed?

"Is it true," Samantha Skinner said, breaking away from the other girls at the fountain, and up to Jane. "are you really a girl now?"

Samantha had ash-blonde hair like her mother, and large green-blue eyes, that dominated her face, and gave her an owlish look. Though of a similar age to the gang she had never run with them, having being obsessed with looking pretty for as long as Jane could remember. Right now her faint eyebrows where raised high in curiosity.

"Yes, it's true. I'm a witch" Jane said into the sudden silence.

"Oh, so you can do spells and stuff?"

"Samantha, get away from that thing." Mrs Skinner had appeared as if out of nowhere, here own ash blonde hair tied back under a tight bonnet. She shoved her daughter behind her and glared at Jane.

"You will stay away from my daughter, is that clear John Greenway."

"It's Jane, I'm called Jane now." Jane said, her voice disappearing into a whisper.

Mrs Skinner sneered at her, her face twisting until it was more frightening than the ogre's had been. "Fancey that, a boy who likes dresses and ribbons, You don't have me fooled, you twisted little freak."

"Is there a problem Ursula?" Her Father said, his voice low. He'd come back and now stood beside her, his hands clenched in fists again.

"I was telling your son, where we stand." She said, pointing at Jane.

"Oh, where you now. I don't think it's your place to inform my child of anything."

"Surely, you don't approve, I mean how could you?"

"That's my business woman, not yours, come along Jane your mother is waiting. If there is a need to discipline Jane, please consult me, as I would consult you should your Samantha need correcting," he said tugging Jane away from Mrs Skinner.

Jane nodded and hurried away, her face burning. She chanced a glance back to see Samantha looking after her, mouthing an apology when her mother wasn't looking. They passed the green and clattered over the bridge that had replaced the ford five years ago. Like much of the woodwork in town Jane's father had played a major part in its construction.

With that Jane was home. John and his father whitewashed the cottage last spring, and the walls were still bright in the sun. Through at this time of day the old cherry tree shaded a good portion. Father's wood shop, an open structure to get the most light was on the other side of the tree, and behind that the wood drying sheds, built long enough to keep a dozen whole trees out of the wet.

The Greenways had been carpenters for generations and it showed in their cottage. It was the second biggest in town, only the Brewsters was larger. Grandfather Greenway had partitioned the inside with shelving. A kitchen and day room on one side and a sleeping room on the other. Jane even had half the loft above the sleeping room. On cold nights she would curl up against the warm stones of the chimney.

"We're home." her father announced as he stomped the dust off his shoes at the door. Her mum was at the heather swinging the large copper kettle of water off of the flames.

The kettle took several buckets to fill and was too heavy to move by hand. Instead it hung from one of the roof beams on a cast iron arm that could be swung on and off the fire.

Mum rushed towards them, a big smile on her face."There you two are, and it's about time. Rushing off to see the druid instead of coming straight home. what were you thinking!"

"Anne dear, we need to talk." Father said, returning her embrace.

Mum had released him and turned to Jane, looking at her with her head tilted. She caught Jane's chin in one hand and turned her face left and right."You think I haven't heard, the news is all over the village. We can discuss it later, right now me and ..."

"Jane," Jane said.

"Me and Jane need to get acquainted."

"It's permanent, the Druid said there was no cure. And we may have trouble with the Skinners," Father said.

Jane's mum pushed him back towards the door. "All the more reason for me to get to know my new daughter. Now why don't you go grab a bite at the Brewster's."

"But."

"No buts." she said. "Your daughter and I have women's business."

Once her father was out the door Mum turned to Jane and enveloped her in a hug. "Gods above, what were you thinking, running off to some dungeon. You are the spitting image of your aunt Cordelia. Oh, sweetie, how are you taking all this?"

Jane had to think about that. The danger was over, she was safe at home, yet she was not freaking out. She pulled away from her mum, and paced the floor, going to the heather and back again. "I think I'm ok. I mean I was happy as a boy, but I wasn't happy being a villager. Now I'm a witch, and I know I can handle myself. I beat up a walking skeleton mum. You should have seen it."

Mum poured the warmed water into the hip bath. "Being a girl isn't bad, and you are a witch. You can tell me about it while you take a bath."

"Mum!"

Jane's mum smiled and patted her cheek. "I'll stay in the other room, unless you want to go out to the creek. I'm sure the neighbours will respect your privacy."

Sure she'd gone for a quick dip in the creek lots of times, as John. There was nothing better on a hot summer's day. Jane looked at the muck smeared shirt and britches she was wearing, "here's fine."

"Good," Mum said, as she disappeared into the other room only to return with an embroidered shift and the good blue dress she wore on holidays. "We're the same size now, so you can wear these until we can sew you a set of every-day clothes."

"But Mum, those are girls clothes."

"And?"

The realisation hit her like a charging bull, the arguments dieing before she could finish thinking them, let alone utter them. "I'm a girl now, not dressing like one will make things worse, won't it?"

"Yes, yes it will. Now hurry before the water cools, Here's soap and lye for your hair, make sure you work it in right down to the roots." Mum said, as she draped the girls clothes over one of the kitchen chairs, and a drying sheet over another. "Leave your clothes by the door and we'll see if we can salvage any of them later, Honestly what kind of filth where you rolling around in?"

"well, there were goblin guts, and."

Mum held up a hand, she shivered, "I don't want to know, Call me when you're ready to do your hair."

Alone again Jane, tossed her loot sack up into her loft, where it landed with the heavy thump of coins striking wood. She slipped out of her clothes without paying them any mind. She froze, one foot perched above the bath.

The last time she'd seen a naked girl was on a summers day three years ago. The four of them, Him, Paul, George and Becca had gone swimming. They'd done it before lots of times but that day was different. Paul took one look at Becca's chest and made a stupid joke about dumplings and clams. Becca had pulled her dress back on and ran off crying then George chased after her. Paul really deserved a smack about the ears that day.

Then again Jane had to admit, that she, or rather he at the time, had been sneaking the odd glance. It made her face flame to think of it now. She didn't look exactly like Becca. for one her breasts where bigger, they stuck out, filling her palms when she cupped them. They were softer than the rest of her, and the nipples extra sensitive. They felt, well nice, and Jane didn't mind having them. Wasn't that a strange thing to think?

Her skin was smooth again. Over the last year John had been growing hair on his leg, arms, and even wisps on his chest. All gone now, there was only a dusting between her legs, forming a faint line on either side of the slit. The slit itself wasn't anything special, just a fold of skin.

With that she stepped into the bath. It was a small hip bath, the water didn't even come to her waist when she was sitting down, and there wasn't room for her knees without serious contortions. Paul once told her that in Hillfort they had bath houses where a body could submerge up to the neck in hot water. Jane wasn't sure she believed him. He'd never been out of Lambford. Heating that much water was more trouble than it was worth.

she ladled the hot water over her body, then rubbed it with the rose scented soap her mum made. Mum had used it on John when he was little, at least until the day he'd declared himself too old to be washed in the hip bath in the kitchen. Now here she was, washing indoors like a little kid.

When Jane was squeaky clean, she even cleaned dirt from under her nails, she stepped out of the bath. She dried with the sheet, wringing it out over the tub when it got too damp, then pulled the shift over her head. It was a simple garment, a straight fabric tube that covered her from shoulders to below her knees, and two straight bits sewed on for sleeves.

"Mum, I'm ready." she called.

Her mum rushed back in so fast the plates rattled in the sideboard. She purred more water into a bucket. "OK, get your head over this and we'll see about getting your hair washed."

Jane lent over the bucket and let her mother do the work of wetting her hair and running the lye solution through it. She wrinkled her nose at the biting odour. It was harsh stuff and getting it in your eyes was not a pleasant experience. "Mum, I didn't know I had an Aunt Cordelia."

Mum spent several minutes rinsing Jane's hair and running a comb through it. Jane thought she would not answer when she finally cleared her throat. "Cordelia was my twin, we weren't identical but still we were close."

Jane wrapped a dry sheet about her hair and helped her mother wring most of the water out. "So why haven't you told this story?"

"It was so long ago." Her mother said, placing a chair with its backrest to the fire. "sit here and let your hair dry."

"Cordelia and I used to do everything together. Then the war came. After we had to flee the farm, your aunt got it into her head to join the army."

Jane got up from her seat again, then pulled the shift smooth and sat back down. Her mother draped yet another drying sheet about her shoulders and spread her black hair out on it so it would dry faster.

"And then?" Jane asked.

"Well, she cut her hair, and off she went. The recruiter must have been half blind to signed her into the guard. How she did it, surrounded by all those young men day in day out, I don't know." Mom said, letting her hands drop to her lap, as her eyes filled with tears. "She was at Keldar's Keep, when it fell to the Orcs."

"Oh." Jane said, Everyone knew about Keldar's Keep. It was a massacre. hundreds of people had sheltered there, and the Orcs killed them all. "I'm sorry Mum, I guess I understand why you don't talk about her much."

"You know the rest." I looked for my sister after the Duke's men turned back the Orc horde. There was no trace of her, instead I found your father and here we are. "

Jane shivered. While not as large as Ogres, Orcs where fearsome creatures and quite intelligent. They were smart enough to forge iron and formed vast hordes whenever a strong leader emerged. People said they liked to eat their captives while they were still alive. If she hadn't died in the siege, her aunt may have suffered that fate. No wonder mum never talked about her.

Once her hair was dry, mum helped her into the blue dress and a darker kirtle. She combed the hair on the left side of Jane's head then separated it into three large bunches. "It's a good thing that spell grew your hair out some."

"I don't know why women don't just cut their hair shorter. It's been getting in my way all day. At least until I found the tiara."

Mum weaved the strands together, working a blue ribbon in among the strands. Once she was down low enough, she held the hair where Jane could see it and continued. "You have a tiara?"

"Yes, it's got a sun stone in it, and I know a spell that can make it glow."

Mother finished with the left side of her head and moved on to the right. Hair care seemed to take a long time, but her mother would not allow a haircut, even if she had chased after her to get one only last week.

"There now, all done. Let me get the looking glass."

Jane looked in the glass, and it took her breath away. black glossy hair surrounded a pale face. Her eyes where dark blue, darker than she remembered. The ribbons in her hair matched their colour perfectly. Her new face was heart shaped, the forehead broad and flat above a small straight nose and cheeks that dimpled when she smiled.

"I'm beautiful," she said, looking at her mother, with tears welling in her eyes. "I really look like a girl. I was afraid I'd look like a boy in girl's clothes."