Bridget, or Brianna, as she referred to herself now, was still shaken up over what had happened earlier. She’d thought it would all go smoothly. She thought that she’d get her happy ending. She thought, that since she was an anthro now, that she could rebuild her relationship with Josephus- or, as he called himself now, Maestro. But when she recalled the look on his face, the venom in his voice, and the hate in his eyes, she couldn’t help but cry. He had said that he no longer liked her, because she’d used him. It wasn’t her fault, not exactly. She’d planned on explaining herself, but before she could, he’d abruptly cut things off without an explanation. And now that she knew the whole reason why… She couldn’t help but thinking back to those days. To what they had. True, she had used him, but she’d been going through a rough patch in her life at that point. She was desperate for stability, and hadn’t fully thought through the consequences.
She cried softly alone, in a place where none could hear her. Her wings wrapped around her in a protective shield, as if to protect her from the outside world. The more she thought about back then, the more she regretted what she felt she had to do. Was there another way? If there had been, she certainly hadn’t seen it. That time in her life, Josephus was the only thing that kept her going back then. She had felt back then that any means to keep him coming back to her would be justified. But looking back on it with what she knew now, she knew that she had been wrong. But in that situation, what was she to do? She certainly couldn’t change what had happened. The reasons she clung to him as she had, they were long gone now. But she just couldn’t let go of what she felt towards him.
She looked around, and saw nobody. Though, she could’ve sworn she’d heard a sound? Thinking not much of it, she pulled out her diary that she kept with her. She opened to a page, of roughly five years ago. It read:
August 17th, 2012
Dear Diary,
Today, Josephus and I had a wonderful date at the amusement park! He’s so wonderful and charming. *sigh* But… A weight is on my heart. I started out only using him for comfort, but now… I’ve grown quite fond of him. What should I do? Should I talk to him? Explain why I kept him around? Will he hate me for doing that? Will he hate me if I don’t tell him? What am I to do?
… I’ve thought about it a while, and I think I know what I should do, Diary. I’ll tell him the truth. It doesn’t matter if he leaves me after this. He deserves to know. If he hates me for this… then so be it. I just can’t keep doing this to him. I care about him too much. He must know. … Even if he leaves me because of it.
Fresh tears fell onto the old page. That had been the day before he’d dumped her. The day before he left town. She tried calling him, desperate to bring him back, to tell him what she wanted to tell him. But after all this time, she finally knew why he left. It was because he’d known. He’d probably had found out from somebody else. Somebody that didn’t know the why, only the fact that it was what she had been doing. Until, that is, she realized how she felt about him. That was when she stopped, but by then, it was too late. But with how angry Maestro was at her, how could she ever explain and have a hope that he’d at least listen? She fiddled with a necklace that she wore, a stylized sun with blocky rays of light coming from it. The same as the “Cutie Mark” she now bore. She always did that when she thought deeply on things. What was she to do to get him to listen? She just didn’t quite know...
She turned her head. Now that time, she’d heard something for sure. She put away her Diary, and called out. “Hello? Is somebody there?” She dried her tears, as to appear presentable to whomever would stumble out. Yet, the silence that was around was suffocating. She sighed, shaking her head. Perhaps it was just a bird setting down on a branch. She went back to fiddling with her necklace. Now, she’d tried calling him under premise of getting back together just to tell him, but that hadn’t worked. She’d also tried sending letters, but they were always returned to her unopened. And trying in person under the premise of getting back together had only gotten him mad. But maybe just simply saying that they needed to talk would be enough? Though, she had serious doubts about that. Maybe she could try something else…
She was knocked out of her thoughts when she heard rustling in the bushes. And whispers. Now she knew somebody was there, no doubt about it. She decided to confront them. “Whoever is there, just come out now! I know you’re there! I can hear your whispering!” She turned to look straight at the bushes. “Come out now, and I’ll be reasonable.”
The bushes rustled a bit, before the one(s) hiding in it came out. Stepping out of the bushes was an anthro she didn’t recognize, but inferred that he was related to Maestro. All because of a locket around his neck engraved with a chess king. He looked at her for a moment, and chuckled. “So you’re the one Lady Starlight sent that email to. Interesting…”
The anthro drew closer, and Brianna spoke out. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand… Who are you?”
Shaking his head, the anthro replied. “Oh, where are my manners?” He pressed a hand to his chest, and continued. “I am Chessmaster Star, the one that can help you.” At her look, he continued to explain. “Listen. You were chosen by Starlight for a reason. Did she not explain in the email?”
Brianna nodded a little. “The email said it would help me get what I wanted, but… that didn’t happen.”
Smiling, Chessmaster continued. “Ah yes, that.” He shook his head. “Tell me, was what you wanted at the time of anthrofication clear, or muddled?” At her downcast look, he frowned. “Muddled, huh? What about now?” He pulled out a notebook and pencil with his magic. “Is it different now, or is it still muddled?”
For some reason, when she thought about it, her mind was much clearer than it had been earlier. She wasn't full of as much confusion as before. “No, it’s… more focused. I know what I want.”
Raising an eyebrow, Chessmaster continued. “Oh? And what is it that you want now? What has become clear that was uncertain before? I’m genuinely curious.”
Looking straight at him, Brianna spoke. “If I can’t explain my past actions to him, I’ll just have to move on. Can you help me?”
Blinking in surprise, Chessmaster replied. “Well, I could, I suppose…” He looked around, and noticed something before looking at her disappointed look. “Don’t get me wrong; I can help you. The problem is that I want to know if you're certain. After all, if you take this, there is no going back.” He then extended a hand.
Hesitating for a moment, Brianna took his hand. "I want this."
Sighing for some reason, and muttering "I was afraid you'd say that.", he lit his horn with red magic, and the pair was gone.