Gaga stirred, then pushed himself up onto all fours. His hair fell in his face, but fell away again as he sat up. He stood, and blinked. Why was everyone staring at him? And did everything seem just a bit taller? He blinked again. There was more color in the world now too, that was strange. He looked at his hands to steady himself, and blinked again. His hands were smaller, less paw-like, though still larger than the average. They were also pink, or rather, the color of human skin. In fact, they were human hands. He blinked again. Why did he have human hands?

"What happened?"

"You jumped in the way and were struck by this sword, which just happens to turn demons into humans." Said Niko calmly.

"What?"

"Luckily for you, it also turned you 25, so you didn't die of old age."

"WHAT?"

"Since this is my fault, you'll be staying with us while you figure out how to cope as a human."

"But, but, but…can't you change me back?"

"No, or at least, I can't figure out how to. We'll work on it, but for the time being at least, you're human."

Gaga's shoulders slumped. How was he supposed to serve as Grenda's steward if he wasn't even a demon anymore? Grenda seemed to figure out what he was thinking.

"Gaga."

"Yes, Princess?"

"When was the last time you had a vacation?"

"What?"

"When was the last time you had a vacation?"

"I've never had one, Princess." Gaga was confused, where was she going with this? "My duties to the royal family took precedence."

"In that case, you're overdue. Until you get turned back into a demon, you're on vacation." She smiled haughtily, trying not to show any kindness.

"But, Princess, what will I do? As I said, I've never been on vacation before."

"Ah, now that question I can answer." interjected Niko. "You'll have a 'working vacation.' You can help out around the caravan, earning your keep; and at the same time learning how to be a human. It ought to keep you occupied, and since we gypsies are more lenient than most people, you needn't worry so much about making a faux pas."

Onua smiled, it was a good solution, and since Grenda had given her approval, he couldn't object. Gaga still looked worried, though. Onua decided to fix that. "Turn around."

"What?" He was startled and confused.

"Turn around. I'm going to do something about your hair, or it'll get in the way all the time."

As he turned around, the other gypsies went back to their duties. Niobe said, "Come, Yuushi-chan, Kokoru-chan, let's get back to the kitchen. I don't think we've been gone long enough for anything to be ruined, but we'd best hurry, just in case."

Onua reached up and pulled Gaga's hair back into a neat tail, securing it with a black tie. The back of his neck tingled at her touch. He tried to ignore it.

"There, that should keep it out of your face. You can help me and Erumina-chan and Beth-chan with the costumes."

"Are you taller Onua-san?" Something was off. She shouldn't have been able to reach his head so easily.

"Of course not, you're just a bit shorter is all. Humans don't usually grow to be seven feet tall." She thought for a bit. "I'd say you're maybe an inch taller than my father now. That's still pretty tall, but within reaching distance for normal people. Now come on, we have work to do."

As they left, Niko asked Grenda to put the apple back on her head, so they could try again.

Note: The reason Gaga could see more color as a human was that as a demon, he was cat-like. Cats see very little color and detail; instead, they are very sensitive to movement. Humans are the other way around. They see far more color, and far more intricate colors, but often don't even notice things moving right in front of them. Also, Gaga's hands in demon form don't really look like paws, but they have no discernable wrists, so that's the closest I could get to describing them.