Chapter 3

Any good feelings I had about the madame of the Augustus family was quickly deflated after spending a small amount of time with her. We left the hospital in a hurry. She barely gave the doctor time to check me out before signing my release. As we left, she struted ahead with a long stride that deflected anyone who dared to get in her way. I found myself wondering what familiar she had, when a fragment of a memory returned.

'That's right, it's a tiger.' I recalled.

She rarely presented her familiar outside of the mansion because of the commotion it always caused. While some people paraded around with their familiars on their shoulders, others would keep them hidden. The familiar could turn invisible to all except its contracted if the contractor desired it. That meant that beast was probably somewhere nearby.

As I was looking around for it, I very nearly ran into the Madame's back as she stopped. Although I managed to just avoid bumping her, she seemed to have eyes in the back of her head that saw how close I had come.

"Be mindful, oaf!" She sniffed. "You may ride in the front, only this one time."

I looked from behind her to see we had stopped at the doors to the hospital. A man in a suit was waiting there, and behind him was a spotless luxury vehicle. In whatever memories I still had, I recalled that I was never allowed to be in this car. Of course, I was allowed to ride up front with the driver, where the help should be. Madame Augustus would ride in the back.

It didn't bother me though, and I gladly got in while the driver, an sturdy man of few words, helped the Madame into the back. He returned to the driver's side without even giving me a single look.

"Take us to the mall." She ordered, waving her hand.

The driver did as she asked, and we spent the next few minutes in complete silence. I had things I wanted to say and questions I wanted to ask, but based on her attitude, I decided it was better to keep my mouth shut. The driver dropped us off a few minutes later in front of a ritzy-looking boutique with an outdoor entrance as part of the mall. She immediately exited the vehicle and headed into the place with a sense of familiarity.

The driver gave me a scowl, and I jumped out of the car. He peeled off down the lot. I barely got a look at the parking garage he entered as I stumbled back into the boutique. When the bell rang, Madam Augustus looked disapporvingly in my direction before she gestured to the storekeeper.

"Make something acceptable for a proper servant in his size." She told the woman.

Her voice seemed to indicate that even though it was made for a proper servant, I'd never be one. The shopkeeper immediately ingratiated herself with Madame Augustus. It was clear she valued Madame Augustus's money more than anything else, but Madame Augustus soaked up her praise like a cactus in the rain.

It's always the same, the poor suck up to the rich hoping that some of that richness rubs off on them. It's the same everywhere. I thought bitterly.

I realized that this statement came from innumerable memories floating around in my mind. While not all of my memories associated with the upper class, a lot of them did. In some, I was only working for them, while in others, I was a member of the upper class myself.

I sat down on a bench nearby and watched the two interact. They whispered various things to each other, and the seamstress occasionally let out a giggle like the madame had said something hilarious. I was sure she was just buttering her up to make a sale. They continued to chatter before they walked off to a back room, and it was only then that I realized they had left some clothing behind for me to try on. I grabbed it and headed into the changing room, not wanting to set off Madame Augustus by wasting her time.

Once inside, I pulled out the clothes and began trying them on. They were far too big, and they looked a bit ridiculous. This seamstress was a fool. It was a suit and a tie suitable for some fancy dinner, not something someone could work in. It made me feel a bit like a dancing monkey. As I walked out of the changing area while picking uncomfortably at it, the ladies returned from the back room.

"Boy! What are you doing in that? That's not for you! That's for my nephew. Get your dirty body out of it immediately!" Madame Augustus snarled in a shrill voice.

"Apologies." I immediately began to pull the suit off right there.

I was down to the underwear in record time, and it was only then that Madame Augustus was able to react. "Why are you stripping here?"

"You asked me to, Madame?" I raised an eyebrow.

The shopkeeper looked me up and down. "This lad has a fine body on him, doesn't he?"

Considering what had recently happened to me, I was a lot skinnier than I had once been. It didn't bother me that she was checking me out, as I had countless memories of interacting with women of all types. I used the opportunity to check my own body as well. My memories seemed to recall I had been a bit pudgy but had recently been working out in secret. When I went into my coma, the added weight loss and dehydration had made my muscles surprisingly defined, if small and inconsequential.

I also found that my member was surprisingly girthy. It was surprising having a memory of being in many different sizes, but if I seemed to recall, my current size was the best. Any larger started to cause certain women to worry and only attracted a certain type, and too much smaller would begin to repel some women.

"You brute put this on!" The Madame's face was red as she shoved new clothing my way.

She appeared to be both intrigued by my body, and appalled at the same time. I didn't antagonize her and instead headed back into the changing room to quickly try on the new clothes. This was a much better fit. I had to reconsider my previous assessment of the seamstress. She did have a good eye for sizes. It was comfortable too. It allowed proper movement, especially if someone needed to use a weapon.

What am I thinking? When do I ever need to use a weapon?

Those memories were putting strange thoughts into my head again. I stepped out and showed my new outfit to the Madame and the seamstress, looking for their reactions.

"He looks very respectable in that." The seamstress whispered, her eyes seeming to remember what was underneath a brief moment before.

Madame looked me up and down with much more consideration, stroking her cheek as she did so. I felt a bit like a horse being checked out before being sold. She finally gave a curt nod.

"Those will do."

She bought a second pair along with five times that amount for her children, nephews, nieces, and anyone else who wasn't me. I was required to carry it all, but I was allowed to wear my current outfit out of the store, which was nice. She had made me wrap myself in a blanket upon entering the mall, and it made me feel like a leper. We ended up stopping at five other stores, and I had to carry everything that she was buying. She kept expecting me to complain about it as she put the next thing on, but I kept my mouth shut.

I didn't like owing people things. This was something that came out strong in my memories. Since she had boughten my clothing, this kind of work was the least I could do. I recalled that more former self was a bit lazier than that, but I wasn't my former self any longer. That said, I still had my former self's body, and as the work day wore on, my weakened body that had just been out of a coma was having trouble carrying stuff.

I was breathing hard and red-faced as I carried boxes that sat higher than my head. If it wasn't for the movement training in my memories that allowed me to sense things without seeing, I would have likely already fallen on my face.

Although the Madame was a relentless woman, she wasn't completely heartless. After seeing me gasping for breath and stumbling with several dozen boxes on me, she finally gave a huff.

"Take this all to the car," she said. "I will be there shortly. Try not to sweat on any of my things."

"Yes, Madame, thank you." I gasped.

Her lips tightened, but not seeing anything she could criticize, she merely gave a nod and walked away. As for me, I happily headed toward the car. The car had a driver, but they wouldn't pull the car around for the likes of me, so I had to find where they parked. After arriving, the guy didn't even bother to get off his ass to help me pack up her stuff. He was sitting a short distance away playing cards with a few other men who also appeared to be drivers. Sitting next to him was what appeared to be a cocker spaniel, except its eyes were red and its fangs came out of its mouth. I didn't even want to ask.

When I approached the car, he clicked the clicker and let it beep, but otherwise didn't take his eyes off of his hand. I could only load everything up carefully by myself. Thankfully, I had some skill in this area, and I was soon free of a load. My body ached at that point, but the car was full. I thought about lying down and resting in the seat, but I imagined what Madame Augustus would say if she found me like that. I wasn't confident the driver wouldn't tell her either. I decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Instead, I headed back to the front of the mall where the Madame was most likely to exit. I found a nearby bench and sat down, my mind wandering through my memories, using these new experiences to try to make sense of everything else. I instinctively chose a spot that was out of view of the main traffic. This bench was behind some trees. It gave me a view of people coming out of the entrance while blocking me from their sight. Some of the memories I had were from rather paranoid people, and I also liked the idea of seeing the Madame before she saw me.