Lady Ann's Folly: Chapter Two - Part Six

The woman who had become Lady Ann in every cell of her body stood gaping at the woman across from her, still with no idea really of what had happened.

It was supposed to be Ann there dressed in her clothes, but instead, staring back at her was someone who looked exactly like she was meant to. Like Mavis.

The imposter fit the clothes she was wearing perfectly now. She had the voluptuous figure and the prestigious bosom. She had the thick reddish brown curls falling onto her shoulders.

And then the penny dropped and Mavis looked down at herself. She lifted her new slim hands, very different from the ones she was used to. She touched her modest chest urgently; her stomach, her own narrow hips; her lips.

“Ruddy eck,” she muttered, and immediately touched her throat, staring back at the newly transformed Ann.

Ann looked panic-stricken, her eyes darting up and down Mavis’s body. This dress she was wearing fit her now. It was remarkable. And the reality of what had occurred was becoming perfectly clear to her.

“You’re... You’re me,” she said.

Ann frowned then looked down at the floor and Mavis followed her gaze to the discarded pendant.

There was a frozen moment.

And then Mavis started to reach for it.

“Stop!”

She froze.

“Leave it where it is.”

They locked eyes again. Ann’s hand was outstretched. Her blood was up; her eyes wide.

“This is what I wanted of you,” she began tentatively, her voice Mavis’s own but coloured by the posh accent of her ladyship. “To trade bodies. For a short time. This is exactly what I planned.”

Mavis squinted back at her. “You... That necklace is magic.”

Ann nodded. I had changed my mind... But now that it’s happened, we... we might as well go through with it.”

“Eh?”

“Swap places... for a couple of hours. And in return I’ll pay you five pounds.”

Mavis eyed the money on the table.

“All you have to do is take your seat again and let me tie you up, exactly as we agreed.”

Mavis frowned. She looked at the money.

“Take your seat,” repeated Ann.

Mavis looked at the seat and the ropes, then back at this woman who wore her shape; the face she was used to seeing in the mirror. She touched her own cheek. It felt different under this new longer and far softer fingers. “I’m you,” she said. “I’m Lady Ann.”

“Yes,” replied Ann. “For a little while. Take a seat and I’ll bring the mirror over.”

Mavis examined her elegant dress then twisted, looking down the slender backs of her arms. She looked back at the money. Then she looked past this woman who wore her face to the mirror on the wall. Without willing it as such she moved toward it, dazzled as she saw the approaching figure in the reflection, recognising that beautiful face; the darker hair.

It was such a different face than the one she was used to. The eyes were wider; more innocent looking. The lips were like the petals of a flower. It was a face that had never seen hardship or struggle. She touched her cheeks, marvelling at it, then she caught sight of Ann looking at her nervously through the glass.

“Is this really me now?” asked Mavis. “I look just like you... like you did. But the way I talk is still ‘ow I’ve always talked.”

Ann nodded. “Take a seat and let me tie those knots again. “You can enjoy experimenting while I’m gone.”

“Gone? Where?”

“That doesn’t matter,” she replied. “Just gone. I won’t be long. The sooner you sit down, the sooner I can come back and you can start spending all that money.”

Mavis looked back at the money on the table, then down at herself, then she looked back directly into the eyes of this Mavis imposter and said, “What if I say no?”