Chapter Three- Looks and Glances

"Seto!"

The now brunette priestess did not respond or react to Mahad's call. She was still stunned by her change and Bakura's escape, the latter more than the former. Mahad's presence gave her comfort in that she would be a man again soon.

"Seto, are you all right? Where's Bakura?" Mahad asked, putting his hands on her shoulders, apparently oblivious that he was a she, but not for much longer.

"He got away," Seto choked, aware that she was going to surprise him.

Mahad backed away at hearing the feminine voice. "Seto?" he asked cautiously. The figure was wearing Seto's blue and white robes and blue hat, but the figure was a woman.

"Yes. Bakura shoved me into a magical chamber, spoke a word, and I became a woman."

"A chamber. Could you lead me to it?"

"Of course." Seto rose and was once again struck by the fact that she was a little shorter; if she had to guess she would say she was Isis' height. She led Mahad to the narrow pass and down the corridor to the chamber where she stayed at the entrance while Mahad examined the walls. She noticed him looking back at her a few times and it reminded her of Bakura's comments concerning her looks.

Mahad couldn't help looking at Seto as he examined the walls. She was very different from before. He couldn't be sure of body shape but what he could see was quite nice. Her hair had escaped her hat and fell past her shoulders and ended at mid-back. Her eyes were wider and a soft deep blue. The nose was slender, her lips were full, and her face was gently curved. She's lovely. Any man would be lucky to have her. But, she's not a real woman and Isis loves her. He turned his attention fully to the walls, searching for a counter word. He gave the entire area two thorough searches before facing Seto.

"It would seem that Bakura had planned to lure one or both of us here for the purpose of changing our genders. I double-checked the walls and could not find a counter. I'm sorry, Seto."

"No," she said in soft horror. "No, Mahad. There must be a counter, if not here, perhaps in the palace archives."

"That's certainly a possibility and one I will entertain once we have returned and reported to the pharaoh." They headed back up the corridor and he added, "While I look through the archives, I suggest you confide in Isis on anything concerning women. She will most likely loan some robes to you. You appear to be her height."

"Proper fitting robes would be appreciated," she said neutrally, not giving away the sour look on her face. She had no intention in indulging in any female behavior! She wasn't going to spend the rest of her life in this body.

The guards were sympathetic to Seto's situation and Seto tore the bottom of her robes to conceal her breasts further as the top had torn a bit more due to the narrow pass as she had slid in and out of it. She felt as if the guards were admiring her, but when she looked at them, they were facing forward, so she concluded that she had been imagining it.

Their report to Atem had been a little uncomfortable to Seto as she saw the pharaoh was looking at her the way Mahad had and it irritated her. Once Mahad had found a counter, she would be normal again, so these stares were unnecessary.

Seto followed Mahad out of the throne room and met up with Isis who was indeed eye-level with her. Isis showed no surprise at seeing her beloved female and Seto smiled a little. "You had a vision of my future," she said.

She nodded as she took one of Seto's hands and led her to the court's quarters and into her room. "It came long after you had left, so I had no way of warning you."

"Isis, even if I had known, I doubt I could have avoided it. I wanted to bring Bakura to justice and blindly chased him. Mahad did not find a counter word in the chamber but will look for one in our archives."

"And if he does not find one, I will still love you," Isis said. "You are still the person I love. Your appearance does not change who you are on the inside."

Seto smiled at this. "I'm glad to hear that you still love me." She pulled Isis as close as she could, feeling their chests pressing together. They separated and Seto looked away, rubbing her arms to overcome the awkwardness of the moment.

Isis just smiled in understanding as she headed to where she kept her robes and shoes. She put a set of each on the bed and said, "I'll leave you to get dressed."

Seto began to remove her robes and then lifted up the borrowed robes and held them up to herself. They ended at the same place they did on Isis and tried on a shoe to find it fit better than her own shoes. She turned to the mirror so she could see what everyone else did.

She nearly gasped. I am pretty, she thought. Her hair hung halfway down her back and now framed her face since her hat was off. She had the elegant body of a woman with all the right curves. She could hardly believe that the woman in the mirror was her. She turned from it and slid on the robes, cinching it around the waist and finding it adhered to the shape of her body. She added the headpiece and shoes before opening the door to reveal Isis.

The Necklace owner nodded in approval. "That looks much better," she said.

"It feel better too," Seto added. "Isis, do you attract attention from other men?" she asked as they set off down the corridor, Seto in the lead.

"On occasion," she said. "I see the glances, the lingering looks, and the open admiration. I'm flattered but I don't encourage it."

"I don't feel flattered. I find it uncomfortable. I know Bakura, Mahad, and the pharaoh were staring and I think the guards we took to the tombs were looking too."

Isis drew alongside Seto and put an arm around her shoulders. "I understand. You haven't been a woman very long and already you've caught the attentions of at least three men. Just don't encourage it."

"Right. Isis, when I left with Mahad, he admitted to knowing we love each other. I told him that I suspected he did and he caught your subtle gestures."

"I also thought he knew; he knows me so well."

"He gave his word that he will not tell anyone else. He also offered to be someone we can confide in."

"That's good." Isis noticed that they were crossing to where the monsters extracted from criminals were stored. She further saw the guards giving once-overs or double takes at Seto. Clearly, word of the incident had spread and people were openly staring, mostly men. She had no doubt that Seto had noticed but she ignored the stares. I do hope Mahad finds a counter. If he doesn't, I will do everything I can to help Seto adjust to being a woman.

Seto grimaced slightly. Her robes now felt restrictive and she disliked how they hugged her body which she seriously disliked. Bakura is a sadistic person. He discovers a gender switch chamber and decides to lure someone to it. He ends up luring me there and decides to see if I would be his lover after I had changed. That is just sick.

She saw the looks the guards were giving her as she and Isis passed by and it greatly annoyed her. She endeavored to ignore them while she'd rather confront them and tell them to stop staring. I won't do that yet. I'll play it Isis' way as she has more experience with the admiration of men. Her experience will be useful as I wait for a counter spell.

The pair entered the storage building and Isis watched as Seto did her duty of taking inventory as well as making sure none of the tablets were damaged. It was a very important duty as Seto had told her; if a monster got free, it would seek out a human who had no monster and it would take up residence in that person and make them commit acts of evil. Isis shuddered to think of an innocent soul turning to crime because of an escaped shadow monster. Fortunately for everyone, Seto takes her duty seriously and she does it well.