Jon examined the bookmark gripped delicately in his now feminine hand. Now beside the smiling, golden haired figure of Allaria was the character Karyn had chosen, but otherwise it remained plain.
By this point Jon was quite frustrated with the entire situation, and would have abandoned it in an instant and demand a refund from the shop owner if he knew any way of reversing what had happened to him. As it was, he wasn't sure he could get back to normal without first going through the seven day process of living the book; the old man hadn't mentioned any other possibility. At least Karyn wasn’t teasing him anymore. She seemed almost more annoyed with her new body than Jon was with his!
Jon resolved right then and there to just get this over with as soon as possible. He wouldn't bother with any weird combinations, instead he would simply use the same book they had been using for the previous changes. Timidly, he placed the bookmark against the book's cover.
Suddenly, he felt tremendously light headed. The very air seemed electrified, and soon, so did he. He couldn't quite explain it, but he was terribly excited for some reason, almost eager to enter the world of the book. He almost forgot for a moment that he was currently stuck as a character he most definitely didn't want to be.
"Woah." Karyn exclaimed, dumbfounded. She must have felt the same way.
But just as suddenly as it had arrived, the feeling passed, leaving Jon once again annoyed and frustrated. He examined the bookmark a second time, finding that it now proclaimed in bold text the title "The Adventures of Seraphina and Allaria".
What a corny title. Jon thought.
"That must have chosen the story's theme." He said. "It is a fantasy/adventure book, after all."
Karyn nodded. "Well Princess? We haven’t all day.”
Jon knew Karen hadn’t meant to come across as patronizing, but her new voice made her sound so… mean. He sighed and pressed the bookmark against the book one final time. As he did so, the bookmark changed tremendously. The images of Seraphina and Allaria now seemed to be standing on the high balcony of a palace, with a great city below them. As the image completed itself, Jon felt tremendously disoriented, and the two (current) elves vanished.
“Jon?” Jon’s father, Dave, leaned into the room, looking to see if his son had friends over. He had heard several unfamiliar voices, and was curious as to whether they’d be staying for dinner. He saw no one. He did, however, see a very curious looking bookmark and a less-than-interesting looking book.
“Huh. Where’d he get this?” Dave asked, curiously reaching for the magical item.
