Ella’s Manor

My knees were shaking when I entered Ella’s private quarters. The head butler Gerald had a grave expression on his face when he told me that I had been summoned, and I was pretty sure I knew why. I had been working as a butler as her manor for two weeks, and I had probably had the worst performance of any butler in history. I had tried hard, but there was just so much to do, and I was struggling to keep up. But I had really screwed up the evening before, as I had forgotten to change into a clean uniform before making her bed and gotten it filthy, meaning she had to stay up an extra hour and wait while it was cleaned. So I knew I was in trouble. I also knew I was in for more than a stern warning. The Lady of the house was young-even younger than me, and I had only recently turned eighteen-but she had inherited great magical powers from her family and was known for harsh punishment toward failures from staff. I took a deep breath and walked through the door.

“Good morning, Milady!” I exclaimed in my best attempt to sound help. “What can I do for you?”

Ella stood in her room in her nightgown with her arms crossed, a cold expression across her face. “Good morning. I suppose you know why you are here?”

I took another deep breath. “Milady, I apologize for what happened last night. I assure you it will not happen again.”

Ella’s expression did not change. “I cannot accept an apology for such shoddy work. You have insulted me with your actions and I will not tolerate such incompetence from my staff.”

I had hoped to stay collected through the conversation but I was already cracking. “P-please, give me another chance. I’ve just had a hard time getting started working, but I swear I’ll do better, please, milady, I’ll work twice as hard, just give me another chance!”

For a moment, Ella continued to stare a hole in me. Then, to my amazement, her face softened into a warm smile. “There, there, don’t be frightened. I believe that you’re trying to best, and I thank you for that.” She walked up until she was about a foot away from my chest. “I cannot allow your mistake to go unpunished. It will set a bad example for the rest of the staff. But what I can do is give you a job that I think you’ll be better at.” With that she gently touched my chest with the tip of her fingers.

I opened mouth to tell her that I would do anything she wished, but no sound came out. Instead, I found myself expelling air uncontrollably, far more than it seemed my lungs should have been able to hold. I began to sway in place as my whole body seemed to collapse into itself, and Ella caught me to keep me from falling. For a moment I feared she would struggle to hold me up, but it seemed like she was able to keep me upright without difficulty. In fact, as my body shrunk I felt my feet leave the floor and I realized that she was holding me in midair. My head and arms shrank into my chest as my body continued to deflate. Finally, the changes stopped, and I was able to turn my attention to the satisfied smile on Ella’s face.

“Great show, servant, out of all my transformations I believe you have turned out the very prettiest. It looks like we’ve found your new job.” She turned me around so I faced away from her and carried me to her floor-length mirror. For a moment I could not believe what I saw. Ella was not holding a young man up by his shoulders; she was holding a long, beautiful purple gown. For a moment my mind was blank, as though it

would not accept what my eyes were seeing. When the reality that I was now a dress hit me, my head exploded into panic.

Ella pulled me backward and pressed me against her body, putting her hands over my body as though to see what I felt like. For some reason her hands felt wonderful as they traversed my body, and I immediately began to calm down. She tossed me towards the bed and I fluttered helplessly onto it. I heard her change out of her nightgown, and a moment later I was off the bed again. This time she slipped me over her body and put me on. What surprised me the most was how little my situation upset me. I should have been mortified that I had been turned into a garment and desperate to be turned back, but I felt so relaxed and comfortable in my new body I could not muster any negative energy. Best of all, I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about my job performance for the day. How could I screw things up if I was a dress?

Gerald was wringing his hands when Ella emerged from her chamber. He seemed surprised to see she dressed without having summoned for her clothes. “Good morning, Milady. I apologize again for last night, I will retrain that servant at once.”

“No need, Gerald. I found a new use for the boy.” She put out her arms and posed in her new dress.

The color drained from Gerald’s face as he realized what Ella had done. “Milady, your parents taught you to use your powers wisely and treat people with kindness, if they could see what you had just done-“

“My parents left me this house and its servants in their will, and left no

provisions as to how I treat my property,” Ella replied smoothly. “I’ll be eating my breakfast in the parlor today, have it prepared at once.”

“I appreciated Gerald trying to stick up for me, but he needn’t have bothered. I was perfectly content with my role as Ella’s dress. In fact, I felt a bit sorry for Gerald and the other staff members; as they rushed about, catering to Ella’s every whim, I got to lie in luxury with my new owner. I was the luckiest servant in the manor!

It was a quiet day at the house, as Ella wasn’t in the mood to entertain guests, venture outside the house, or do anything except lounge around on the sofa. The most activity she did was clap her hands to have her servants bring her things, and since I had no arms-or even sleeves-I did little other than stare at the wall. It should have been painfully dull, but I was too comfortable to be bothered. In time the sun began to set and Ella returned to her quarters. When she took me off she hung me up facing her to address me. To my surprise she did not even put her nightgown on before speaking to me. The fact that she was willing to let me see her in my undergarments had to mean she would never allow me to be human again.

“Normally, boy, when I punish my servants with magic I show them mercy and restore them in due time. However, you were such a horrid servant and make such a lovely gown it’s clear what I must do.” Ella stepped forward and kissed my fabric. I felt a tingle run through my body and felt even more relaxed than I had before. “My kiss makes my spells permanent. No magic, not that of myself or even my parents could ever restore you.” Ella looked immensely satisfied in the finality of what she had been done. “You are the first person to ever be my clothes, and the first to be forever under my spell. I hope you appreciate the wonder of this gift.” With that she dressed in her nightgown and rang her bell to summon Gerald.

Gerald seemed incredibly agitated as he hurriedly took me away to the closet of Ella’s dresses. If he had any idea what it was like to be a dress he would not have been so disturbed. As we went inside I observed that Ella had dozens of gowns to wear, and it occurred to me that it might be some time before I was taken out to be worn again. Gerald placed me on a hanger, hung me up and left, leaving me to wait in stillness and silence in my new quarters to be summoned again. But I could not help but feel at peace with my new place in Ella’s manor.