The Magic

Cello made it to the edge of the pond before removing his loafers and socks. He took off his waistcoat, tunic, and breeches. He was down to his undergarments before he began carefully walking into the pond. Lucky had woken up from a nap before heading to his master's side. He knew not to go into the pond. Cello always forbade him from doing so. It wasn't a deep pond, but the water managed to rise to his waist as he moved in the direction he believed the ring to be. The water was slimy and dirty. He could feel things in the water move between his legs. He couldn't see at all but hopefully he could manage to find the ring by feeling for it.

The tears that Cello shed made tiny ripples in the water as he walked through it. He was disappointed in himself. He got his hopes up and worked diligently on restoring his father's suit. Why would he think his stepfather would honor their agreement? It wasn't necessarily even an agreement now that he began to think about it. It was more of a challenge. At least he could say he overcame it. He should have felt even more proud, but he just felt sorry for himself.

A little to the left, a voice in his head said. He ignored it before it sounded again. To the left, I said. He ignored the voice again. Honey, your other left. Giving up and finally listening to whatever voice was ringing in his ears, he moved his hand a little to the left. He felt something metallic and hard. He found it! He lifted the ring out of the water and examined it. It didn't look much different. He hurried out of the water to dry it off with his tunic.

Now that wasn't so hard was it? The voice asked. He was beginning to get scared since he had never heard voices before. And why was this one so loud? A gentle breeze began to blow before the wind picked up and centered in the front of his home. Cello and Lucky followed the wind until they saw what looked to be specks of shimmering light converge to where the wind was headed. The light looked to be creating an outline of a person, but Cello couldn't really understand what he was seeing.

A body finally appeared from the bright lights and shook itself. Sparkles dusted off the body as it began stretching out its limbs. Cello couldn't believe what he just saw. Was he completely devastated enough that his brain was making him crazy? He just witnessed a whole person conjure out of thin air!

"Finally!" The person spoke in a somewhat baritone voice. Cello was a little confused at that because the person before him was clearly a woman. At least he thought so. The woman was much taller than he was. She wore an absolutely gorgeous glittery gown. It was blue like the ocean and danced in waves around her. She reminded him of a beautiful mermaid. Her hair was very massive and very blonde. It was put up in a way that reminded him of a giant beehive. Her skin was russet brown, similar to his, and her eyes were accented with blue color on her eyelids. Her lips wore a very prominent shade of blue too. Her body was curvaceous, but there was still something slightly masculine about her too.

"Who... are you?" Cello managed to squeak out. "Are you a figment of my imagination? Because I really don't need this right now." The person gave a very hearty laugh and sauntered, (sashayed?), towards him. Lucky began bouncing up and down at the person's legs. He wanted to be petted.

"I am not a figment of your imagination, darling," the person said in that baritone voice again. Cello should have feared her, but she emanated a calming aura that made him relax his body that he didn't realize became so tense. She bent down and gave Lucky a good scratch behind his ears.

"Then who are you?" Cello asked again.

"I'm your fairy drag mother, honey," she said as she did a twirl. As she spun around more glittery dust sparkled and came off her. Lucky tried biting at the sparkles that disappeared before he caught any.

"Drag mother?" Cello asked a bit confused. He had no clue he had a fairy drag mother. He had no clue what a fairy drag mother was. Where has she been this whole time anyway?

"I'd love to explain, dear, but we don't have the time." She began. "Not if we're wanting to get you to that ball." For some reason, she reminded him of an exaggeration of his mother. She seemed kind, cheerful, and full of life. The exact same qualities his mother shared. She took notice of his change in demeanor.

"I know you miss your mother, sweetheart," She began, "but she wouldn't want you wallowing in the dark when there is a party going on!" She took both hands and placed them on Cello's shoulders and shook him. "So, snap out of it!"

"Okay, okay!" Cello laughed. "Even if I do believe that you're real, why are you so determined to get me to the ball?"

"Because your dream is there, Cello," she explained. "Your freedom, the chance to feel loved, and maybe even the man you've always longed for."

"Man?" Cello asked quietly.

"Yes, man," His drag mother confirmed. "There are others in this world who are not so different than you. Others who feel the same as you. Some of them are closer than you think." Cello thought about what he was hearing. He felt that he may have been the only man who... would rather enjoy the company of other men. He didn't think about girls or women in the way his stepbrothers did. When he thought of someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, a woman was never in his fantasy. It was always a man. Big and strong but also comforting. A man who made him feel safe. A man who would wrap his arms around him and tell him that everything would be okay. A man who would always be by his side and love him until their end of days. It pained him so much inside. His drag mother cupped his cheeks in her hands.

"You are never alone," she said wiping his tears away, "don't you ever forget that." Cello sniffled and smiled at her.

"Thank you," he said.

"You can thank me after we get your beautiful butt to that ball." She said waving her arms around. More sparkles fell from her as she moved around. Lucky was right behind her chasing after them. She searched a bit around the premises for a bit before finding what she was looking for.

"Aha!" she exclaimed. "I got it." Cello watched as she bent down and picked up a yellow pumpkin. It was a small thing that would eventually grow much larger by autumn's harvest. She placed it in the road and made a rectangle with the thumbs and forefingers of her hands. She shut one eye and used the other to look through the rectangle she made. It was as if she was picturing something would go right where the pumpkin was.

"Um..." Cello began to say.

"Shush and let mama work," his drag mother said. "I stole this idea from a friend of mine. She was a complete diva, but the lady knew how to sing. May the great fairy mother rest her soul." She shook her hands and rolled her head around on her shoulders. "Just got to work out the kinks."

"Mhm," Cello said. He didn't know what else to say, let alone what to think of any of this. His fairy drag mother stretched her arms in front of her and waved them towards the pumpkin. This time an enormous amount of light released from her and soared towards it. Right before his eyes he saw the pumpkin grow larger and begin to transform. The stem of the pumpkin grew longer and wrapped down the base of the growing fruit. It split into four separate stems that curved into giant circles. The circles grew larger and thicker until the stems disappeared and turned into steel wheels. The pumpkin itself lost its uneven shape until it became almost a perfect sphere of gold that sat on top of the four wheels. The golden sphere was decorated with golden patterns that enveloped the entire body of what looked to become a carriage. The carriage was massive enough to house three windows on both sides of it. The coach's seat was lined in gold and the reins for the horses looked to be made with strands of even more gold.

"Is that..." Cello gasped, "a carriage? From a pumpkin?" Cello really felt that he was going crazy. None of this made sense.

"Mhm, my dear, and I'm just getting started." His drag mother said. She saw Lucky playing along with some chickens in the yard. She waved her hand at them as they disappeared and reappeared in front of the carriage. The chickens transfigured into four white Lipizzaner horses, now secured to the golden carriage. Their straps and bands were all bedazzled in diamonds and gold. Lucky began to run away, too scared to figure out what was happening. He was too slow as the bright light caught up to him transforming him in a handsome man dressed in attire fitting for a coachman.

"I'm... a man?" Lucky said looking down at himself.

"You can talk?" Cello asked him, shocked still by what was unfolding before him.

"Oh, that's never happened before," his drag mother said, surprised herself.

"I don't... understand," Lucky said looking up from his new human hands and touching his face. His skin was almost pale and his golden eyes shined in the moonlight. His hair was a medium shade of brown with a few white patches on top. He looked directly at Cello and smiled showing a full set of white teeth. His canines seemed a bit sharper than the average human's. He began sprinting towards Cello who backed up a bit, almost frightened by what was going to happen.

Arms wrapped around his body completely and he was getting the breath squeezed out of him. Lucky was hugging him as tightly as his arms could muster. Cello let out a breath and smiled at him. He wrapped his arms around Lucky's body and hugged him back.

"I've always wanted to do this." He whispered to Cello. "Thank you for getting me out of that bush." Tears began forming in Cello's eyes. Lucky, his Lucky, was a man now and hugging him. He honestly didn't care if he was going crazy. Being able to experience this was worth him getting sent off to a mental ward. Lucky finally let him go and took a good look at him.

"What?" Cello asked.

"Oh, honey, I hope you're not going in that," Lucky asked wrinkling his nose. Cello looked down at himself and saw that he was still in his undergarments and covered in dry algae.

"Well, no," Cello told him. He walked to the end of the pond again and picked up his clothing. "I'm going in this." He held up the clothes for Lucky to see.

"I still don't like it," Lucky sighed. "No offense to your father."

"What's wrong with it?" Cello asked him. "I just need a mask. I can make one and still make it to the ball in time."

"Sweetie, did you not just see me make a carriage out of a pumpkin?" His drag mother spoke up, gesturing towards her creations. "I can make you a mask!"

"Oh!" Cello exclaimed. "I didn't want to be a burden." Lucky walked up next to him and licked his cheek with his now human tongue. Cello looked at him with wide eyes, complete embarrassment showing on his face.

"I had a feeling that wouldn't have the same effect," Lucky said, mostly to himself before heading to the coachman's seat and hoisting himself up.

"I'm... going to pretend that didn't just happen," his drag mother said with her hands clutching the pearls around her neck. Cello nodded in agreement. "Now, Cello, stand still and I'll get you your mask. And drop those clothes." Cello did as he was asked and sat the clothing down near his feet. He looked straight ahead at his drag mother, waiting for her to wave her arms. She did exactly as he thought and more light erupted from her.

Cello became enveloped in white sparkles and shimmering glitter. He began to feel his body engulfed in a warm embrace. Before he knew it, he was adorned in the most beautiful regalia he had ever seen. An ivory white doublet appeared on his torso. A golden rose embroidered over his heart twinkled in the night. The rose's thorny stem, also embroidered in gold, wrapped along the doublet in an intricate pattern that drew the eyes back to the rose. His ivory breeches were stitched together with golden thread down to his ankles where his matching leather shoes fit perfectly around his feet.

From his shoulders a silken white cape glistening with dozens of bejeweled diamond roses flowed along his back. On his face sat a diamond encrusted Colombina mask that fit snuggly across his eyes. The coarse black hair on his head felt clean, cut, and brushed. His short beard was neatly trimmed on his face. Cello took the mask off and turned it over in his hands. It was all too good to be true. This wasn't happening. There was no explanation to any of this. He wore the most extravagant pieces of clothing he had ever seen, his chickens were horses, his best friend and loyal companion was a human now, and this fairy drag mother stared at him with the proudest look on her face.

"This is a dream," he said to himself. "There's no other explanation."

"If it were a dream, would you want to wake up?" His drag mother asked him. Cello gripped the mask firmly before shaking his head.

"No," he told her. "I'd want it to be like this forever." The smile he gave her shined brighter than all the stars in the night sky.

"Then make the best of it," she told him before guiding him towards the carriage. Lucky looked down at him from his coachman's seat and whistled at him.

"If only I wasn't actually a dog and really a human," he trailed off. Cello laughed at his comment as he opened the carriage door and slid in. His seat was extremely soft and he sank down in it.

"Oh! How foolish of me to forget," his drag mother said as she shut him inside the carriage. "All of this," she gestured to the carriage in front of her, "will only last until midnight, down to the clothes that you're wearing."

"Midnight?" Both Cello and Lucky asked together.

"Midnight." She repeated. "It's as much as I can do. But with the way that you look, I don't think you'll need that long." Cello looked down at himself. "I mean it, Cello. You just have to believe it."

"Thank you," he told her. He honestly couldn't put into words how grateful he was to her. She came out of nowhere and wanted to give him the most perfect night of his life. He didn't deserve it.

"One final thing, my dear," she said to Cello. He sat up more, giving her his complete attention. "You'll need this." She handed him his father's ring. He couldn't believe he forgot it! With all of the commotion, he just now remembered it had been drying in his tunic. He placed the ring back on his left ring finger where it belonged, above the scar. His fairy drag mother stepped back away from the carriage.

"Lucky," she said to him. "He's all yours."

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted her before taking the reins of the horses and guiding them away from the home and towards the castle. Cello stuck his head out of the window of the carriage before waving at his drag mother until she vanished into a puff of smoke, glitter, and light.

They were on their way to the ball.