Chapter 1: Part One

Help wanted: person of any sort to act as maid for witch. Accommodations can be made, contract negotiable. No prior experience necessary. See at 111 Goode Ave. for more details.

There it was, plain as day, in the middle of the newspaper’s classified section. Henry was looking, of course, not for fun, but because his cheap boomer parents couldn’t afford the damn internet and he couldn’t afford to move out. When he’d complained about the job search, his father handed him a paper, full of jobs that were for far too little pay and far too much backbreaking labor.

But this, well, this caught his eye. A maid! He ignored the witch part (the woman was probably a little batty in the brain, he figured), instead focusing on the negotiability and likelihood of good hours. Who knows, maybe he’d even be able to move out! This was a good opportunity, and he knew it. He looked up where the 100 block of Goode Ave. was in his parents’ paper maps to find…there wasn’t one, a forest cut off the street at the 200 block.

Oh well, he’d just have to go over there and see. Not having a bike, he just walked for a few blocks, taking turns as necessary until he arrived at…huh, there was an ominously large mansion there that wasn’t on the map. It had serious “haunted house” vibes. But hey, a job was a job and he figured the worst that could happen was a ghost spooking him.

He walked up the porch to knock on the door, only to see a woman, at least 6’4”, in her pajamas staring at him. Across her nightgown’s chest was a pentagram, and her nails were painted black, with little white stars and moons on them. She hugged him and grinned at him, leaving him unsure of what to do.

“Welcome, applicant!” she said.

“H..how did you…?”

“Oh come on now, polo shirt, khakis, it’s like you’re on a job search when you don’t have any proper dress clothes! Not to worry, I’ll provide you with some. Can I have your name, dear?”

As he said something, he forgot exactly what he was saying. The woman just smiled at him and motioned for him to come in.

“You’ve got the job, by the way,” she said, “come in the kitchen, let’s talk terms.”

He walked through what seemed like an endless maze of halls, following her until they reached the kitchen. She grinned at him as she pulled a contract out of what appeared to be thin air. But he knew it couldn’t be, duh!

She began to read: “Compensation: The employee, hereinafter ‘Harriet’, shall be compensated for her employment with three pound of gold per annum, three toads, shelter in the house she cleans, and food. Harriet shall also be given free healthcare via protective wards on her body, and any other necessary care shall be provided upon discussion with the employer, hereinafter ‘Gwen’.

Obligations and Regulations: If not already using she/her pronouns, Harriet shall use them for the duration of her stay. If not already a foxgirl, she shall be given an appropriate body as such. Harriet shall wear provided uniforms around the house. Harriet shall clean the house and all contained within it appropriately, cook for Gwen, aid Gwen in retrieving ingredients for her potions, and do other household chores as deemed necessary. Gwen shall be referred to by Harriet as ‘mistress’ at all times.

The contract shall be considered void if withdrawn verbally by either Harriet or Gwen. Return to human form may be requested by Harriet, but shall result in contract termination. If contract termination is achieved by other means, Harriet shall be permitted to retain foxgirl form.

Any questions?”

“Uh..um, what’s that about being a foxgirl?” the soon-to-be maid asked.

“Observe!” Gwen said as she snapped her fingers, and in her place was a small foxgirl, who waved and giggled, before she snapped again and changed herself back.

The man thought to himself. There was clearly magic going on, but he’d always wanted to try being a woman, even if the means were unconventional. And anyways, if he were too uncomfortable, he could always break the contract, it seemed. Plus, the compensation was nothing to laugh at! He picked up a quill that was floating in the air next to the contract, and signed his name, not noticing he was already signing it ‘Harriet’.

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Harriet yelped as she felt herself shrink and shrink, a swirling vortex of magic also changing her rough clothes into the frills of a maid outfit in the process. She felt a tail begin to poof out from behind her, and felt her ears move up on her head, fluffing up with what she assumed was fur. The process tickled, and she giggled.

“Thank you G–Mistress,” Harriet said, gasping as she covered her mouth.

“I know you’re still training, so I placed a little spell on your mouth. You’re not allowed to say my name, Harriet,” Gwen said, smiling at her as she knelt down to meet the new foxgirl’s eyes.

“Okay, Mistress,” Harriet replied, blushing at the tall woman’s dominance over her with her mere presence. She grabbed her tail and instinctively rocked from side to side.

This elicited a hearty laugh from Gwen, who handed her a feather duster. “Your first task, my little maid, is to dust the house. Not to worry, you can take as many breaks as you like. There’s cherry cola in the fridge, and lots of food in the cupboards as well! Since it’s your first day, I’ll order us takeout.”

“O..okay mistress, thank you!” Harriet said as she picked up the duster. She didn’t have the most experience, but her parents had been having her do some cleaning and cooking to pay her rent since she’d graduated high school a few years ago.

She swore her mistress was peering at her from her chair when she entered the living room, and she felt extra pressure to perform well. However, if Gwen had any issues, she didn’t express them, merely grinning at Harriet reassuringly whenever she looked over for approval.

As Harriet cleaned more, she found that the house was not nearly as expansive as she’d expected, or remembered from when she walked in. She figured it was possible that there was some space expanding magic going around. Perhaps her mistress was making it easier? But Mistress was busy, and probably had no time to micromanage her. She dismissed the idea and continued cleaning until she’d dusted the whole house.

She noticed on more than a few occasions that Gwen had appeared in the rooms she was cleaning, as if just to be in her presence. She hadn’t had an opportunity to see herself in a mirror, but she couldn’t imagine she looked all that special now, even if she was a foxgirl even remotely as cute as the one Gwen had transformed into.

Lucky for her, the next room to clean was a bathroom. As she walked in, she didn’t quite fully grasp at first that the woman in the mirror was her. But, as she recognized how her movements, the swishing of her tail, the grinning of her face, reflected her own, she realized it was in fact her. She investigated her hair beneath her little bonnet, to discover it was the same color her own had always been, tied back neatly into a bun. She looked about the same age as she was before, which she was thankful for, though her height would probably get her carded now. She grimaced as she thought about the old, bearded face she’d once had, and how no one questioned that she really was over 21 when she went to buy alcohol. Did she want to go back to that?

She found that the maid dress did have pockets, but her wallet was replaced with a little coin purse, and her flip phone had been replaced with…a new smartphone? This witch really knew her stuff. As she resolved to get back to dusting, she noticed a familiar figure in the mirror behind her. She turned around to look at Gwen, who was smiling at her, one hand on her hip.

“You look beautiful in that, Harriet,” she said with a smirk.

“Thank you, Mistress! And for the new phone and coinpurse as well!”

“Oh, it’s no problem, pet,” Gwen replied as she scratch Harriet’s ears, eliciting a sharp yip.

Harriet blushed, but Gwen seemed to either not notice or ignore it, instead beckoning her with her hand. “It’s dinner, I ordered a little bit of pizza for us.”

Pizza was Harriet’s favorite! She wondered if Mistress was reading her mind, but even if she was, that didn’t matter to her! She ran after her mistress, absentmindedly clutching her hand as they walked down the stairs.

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