He didn't know what time it was. There were no clocks in the wine cellar. The sound of a steady fan pulling moisture out the room droned on. The metal felt cold under his bare ass and feet. He was afraid. He fucked up royally and before he awoke shrunken and naked, his pregnant wife was attacking Keith and Claire. He remembered that much. Obviously, her attack wasn’t enough as he was here, borrower size, naked and trapped in a cage. Two borrowers, a male and female dressed in black clothes holding swords stood beyond the bars staring at him with contempt. His thoughts went to Mai. Was she alive? Dead? Dying? And what of their unborn child? He wanted answers to those questions but right now he wondered what they had planned for him. The fact he was still alive meant his death wasn't the highest priority.

"He sickens me" the female said. Brown hair, mid 20's with a scar on her face told Jacob she hadn't the easiest life. "I know" the male said. Almost the exact same except missing a left eye. Jacob thought they could be siblings. "No you don't. Miss Rose let him in her confidence and he raped and tortured her. I've known the child since she was in diapers" the woman said narrowing her eyes. "...so have I. Watched her grow into a fine maiden. A kind girl. A loving creature" the young man said gripping the hilt of his blade. The woman raised her sword. "No, our orders were to guard him. Not to execute the bastard" he said holding his arm out. "As if she could judging by how she's shaking" Jacob muttered. "37"

"What?" Jacob asked. "She's killed 37 people. Most agents have code names based on flowers but not us. There are missions where people must die. That's where agents like us come in. Our unit names are Briar Patch. Some of our marks aren't even found once we're done with them.  We got extra authority to use arcane in our missions. Our favorite thing is shrinking humans. To die under a borrower's foot or just simply eaten...a poetic justice" the man mused. "I really hope they turn you over to me. I might be small but even my feet get smelly after wearing these boots after a while. You can die screaming as my sweaty, smelly sole flesh presses the life out of your traitorous body" the woman said with an eerie calm. Jacob didn't say a word of retort. The sound of heavy human sized footsteps alerted them they were no longer alone. Keith came down the stairs walking to the desk where the cage and they were. He pulled up a chair and placed a can of Red Bull on the desk. He took a sip. "Red Bull gives you wings" he chuckled slightly before putting it down with a loud clack.

"Open the cage and bring him out" he said. The man unlatched the hook and slid the bolt aside. His sibling pulled the cage door open. "Get up and get out" she said holding her sword out. Jacob stood and wobbled out as his legs has fallen asleep. "Get on your knees and sit" Keith said. Jacob glared at the giant. The woman took her leg back and kicked him hard in the balls. Jacob yelped and whimpered falling to his knees. "Well Jacob. Care to explain how you ended up in this situation?" Keith asked. "They send you down here? Figures, you are the gopher in this little band of theirs, aren't you? Or is it white knight in tarnished armor?" Jacob asked. "If Claire was here, your words might cause her to burn you and this mansion to ashes. Lily doesn't know what's best. Strangle you or stay by Rose's side. Me? Let's just say the dark side is strong in me today" Keith replied. "I'm no telling you shit. You plan on killing me anyway right?" Jacob asked. "I can swear on the life of my children that I will not kill you" Keith said. "Nice try asshole. That just means someone else will. Now why would I betray my mistress if you're going to kill me anyway?" Jacob asked grinning.

Keith sighed. "For the past few hours I've been digging around in databases about you. Parents killed in the July 7th, 2005 terrorist bombings in London. Your aunt took you in and raised you. She died of cancer two years ago leaving you and your 13-year-old cousin all alone. Supported by insurance payouts. Here's a picture of your cousin wearing her private school uniform. Cute kid" Keith said showing him a picture on his phone. "I'm on the clock here. I got something else to deal with so time is of the essence for me. You might not care about your life but what about your cousin's?" Keith asked before sipping the drink once more. "Like I give a shit about her" Jacob muttered. "Oh, I bet you do looking at your Facebook. A gold locket engraved with her name. That's giving a shit Jacob" Keith said zooming the picture and pointing to it. "I swore I wouldn't kill you, but I never did say anything about anyone else" Keith said. He reached into his pocket and dumped a small set of pajamas. Jacob stared at it. No mistaking the colors or patterns. He got them for her as a Christmas present.

"You wouldn't" Jacob sneered. "After what your friends put me through? What's at stake? Guess again" he said scooting the drink can close to Jacob and then plucking the side. The young man's blood ran cold as he faintly heard crying and screaming from inside. "It was damned easy. Send an agent to her dorm room, shrink her small enough for them to carry her here. Gives my drink that extra flavor" Keith said picking it up. Jacob’s breath was caught in his throat as Keith took another sip but bigger this time. "Here's the deal. I placed her in there about...4 minutes ago. So, one of three things are going to happen within the next 5 minutes. Either she freezes to death, drowns, or gets drunk by me. You have the power to stop that" Keith said. Jacob just stared. Keith drank again and kept drinking. "STOP! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW! Just don't kill her. She's the only family I have left" he begged. Keith picked up the can and gently poured it out. Sure enough, a tiny quarter inch, naked girl came floating out. "Hold onto her" Keith said to the woman guard. The woman picked up the girl and dried her off with her own clothes. "Now let's get started shall we?"

"When did Ebonheart first contact you?" Keith asked. "About a month after I started dating Rose" he replied. "So, she didn't put you up to dating Rose?" Keith asked. "No. I really did discover her shrunken in the library like I said" he replied. "Did you ever love her?" Keith asked. "I did" he answered softly. Keith slammed his fist on the desk. "Then how the fuck did it come to this?!" Keith yelled. "Ebony offered me a deal. Spy on Rose and all of you and in return I would be installed as regent of the UK and my cousin would be spared" he replied. "You sold out your entire species just like that?" Keith asked disgusted. "And what would you have done?! Huh?! If someone came along as said almost all borrowers on the planet would be killed but you and those you care about would be spared, what would you have done?!" Jacob yelled. "I would've found my fucking balls, said yes and then went right to Lily and Rose about it. You sold out humanity, sold out Rose, and then yourself. Here's a question for you. What would your cousin think of you if your plan worked? Hmm? Your hand in 7 billion deaths. Would she look at you the same?" Keith asked.

Jacob glanced over at the borrower woman holding his cousin like a newborn child. Her eyes were closed as she shivered. "Yeah. Where were we? Ah. Yeah you being the biggest traitor in the history of humanity. So, what does she know?" Keith asked. "About those guns. You forming a borrower army. Claire. Your friends" Jacob muttered. "Does she know how many guns? How powerful they are?" he asked. Jacob shook his head. "And our army? The size?" he asked. "Only a bare estimate. Two or three hundred" Jacob replied. Keith stared at the young man. "You've really fucked things up. Get back in the cage" Keith growled. Jacob stood up and walked right back into it. "Get her dressed, unshrink the girl, and get her back to her dorm bed by sunrise. If we're lucky she'll think this was all a bad dream" Keith said standing. "We have no idea if he's telling the truth" the male borrower said. "That's why I'm placing an agent on her. Once the shooting starts, we'll know very quickly hoe prepared they are for our defenses. Too ready...and we'll know he lied. If that's true, she dies” Keith said coldly. "I’m not lying!" Jacob screamed. "We'll see" Keith said before walking to the steps. "In the meantime?" the woman asked. Keith paused. "Do what you will with him but keep him alive" Keith replied walking up the steps.

The woman smiled as she handed the girl over to her brother. She began to undress. "What...what are you doing?" Jacob asked. "It's been awhile since I had some fun while I worked. Don't worry. He said I can’t kill you" the woman said entering the cell. She had it locked behind her. She forced him on his back and with her free hand began to claw circles and symbols into his stomach with her fingernail. Jacob struggled against her more significant strength to no effect. Once she was done, Jacob shrank before her. Within seconds she towered over him like a titan. "Hope you're good and holding your breath" she hissed as she scooped him up. She spread her pussy for him. "No! No please!" he screamed as he saw the wet orifice awaiting him...

Keith was weary as the Red Bull had already worn off. He stumbled through the living room and barely heard someone on the floor yelling for him to look out. Keith jerked back and fell to the floor. "You alright?!" a voice yelled. "Hikari?" Keith asked looking. She looked just as exhausted as he was and she carried their crying son. "You almost stepped on us" she said as he righted himself. "Jesus. I didn't even see you two. Why aren't you asleep?" he asked. "Our son has a fever" she replied. Keith stood up and picked them up in his hand. He said nothing as he carefully carried them to their room. He placed them on the bed and shrank down to their size. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note. "Doesn't that drain you? Aren't you tired already?" Hikari asked. "My son needs me. How I feel is irrelevant" he said flatly. He began to heal his son and within a minute he infant was sleeping peacefully. "Just a cold. He'll be..." Keith said until he collapsed onto the bed. Hikari bundled her son quickly to attend to Keith.

"I'm...just a little worn out is all" he said looking at her panicked face. He went to get up and Hikari forced him back down. "Hey. I'm too tired for the rough stuff" he chuckled. "Save your American humor. You are exhausted, and you must rest. Your wife shall understand" she said. Keith crawled next to his son. He breathed his scent. "He has another sibling on the way" he muttered. Hikari looked at him. "He will have good company and a good father" she said softly lying aside from her son. Hikari watched him give gentle kisses to their son as he snuggled into the sheet. In no time he was fast asleep. Hikari knew she was his mistress at best and it would be a lie if that didn't vex her now and then. But as he slept, his finger touching their son's arm, she could see there was love in his heart for both of them. For a fleeting moment, she felt like his wife. And that moment she would never forget.

Lily stared at the girl sleeping in the shrunken bed. Now being human sized again, she thought of so many ways to end the girl's life. Lily was no stranger to killing humans but when she did it was only when she deemed it "just". The daughter of her mortal enemy? Justifiable in some eyes but was it in hers? Lily promised her sanctuary if she told her the way to eliminate Ebonheart once and for all. Part of her wanted the girl to fail and the other...well it was not an easy bargain. Lily tapped on the glass. "Wake up" she said coldly. Danica awoke and panicked for a moment seeing she was surrounded by glass. She calmed slightly remembering last night.

She had come to them seeking safe harbor in exchange for information that would do away with the soul inhabiting her mother's body. She was shrunk on the spot, carried to a bathroom and forcibly stripped of her clothes. Borrowers searched her small naked body from her scalp, to her pussy and asshole, right down to between her tiny toes. No listening devices or engraved spells found on her person. She was given a gown, dropped in an old fish bowl, watched a maid cover the bowl top almost completely with a encyclopedia to prevent her from escaping, and told she would be questioned in the morning. With a plain bed with no sheets and a bottle cap to relieve herself in, Danica was beginning to think even if she lived, this shrunken imprisonment might be for her entire life.

She pissed in the cap not making eye contact with the giantess and didn't fight as Lily pulled her right out. She was placed on a nightstand and Lily placed a very small tray before her. Juice, toast, bacon and eggs. "Eat up and we shall begin" Lily said sitting down on a bed. The giantess never broke eye contact with her. Danica had been shrunken many times but never felt in danger to this degree. Her hand shook as he held her toast. Her teeth chattered slightly. She even scrunched her toes in nervous twitch. Did this woman take the time to make her breakfast and then shrink it for her convenience? Maybe things weren't so bad after all. Soon after thinking that, Danica felt strange. A weird euphoria enveloped her body. She leaned back slightly feeling her forehead. "Good. It's taking effect" Lily said. "What is..."

"I laced your juice with midazolam. * A fast-acting medication for seizures. Has an interesting side effect as a truth serum if you tinker with it. It's harmless but it will prevent you from spilling lies" Lily explained. Danica barely nodded. "Wasn't planning to" she said. "That being said. If you tell me some theory bullshit or something we already know...let’s just say I won't have to go far for MY breakfast" Lily said flashing an eerie grin. Danica lost her appetite.

(Authors note: Midazolam is a real generic drug. It does treat seizures and in some cases act as a "truth serum". In some countries it's a controlled substance but the scary thing is how damn cheap it is. A single dose costs about $0.35 American)

"The prophecy given by the Hopi woman said Etherion would extinguish the heart of darkness, so I might as well ask the million-dollar question. What do you mean eliminate Ebonheart permanently and why should I bargain with you when we already have a means" Lily asked. "I know full well the prophecy and I'm telling you what you're thinking isn't going to happen" Danica said. "That's your gambit? Claiming the prophecy is a lie. You're looking more like breakfast to me" Lily said to her. "Please let me explain! Did the prophecy say explicitly that she would die? No, it didn’t. I'm sure you've read enough fables to know that prophecies aren't cut and dry. It could be interpreted a dozen different ways. What you got in mind won't cut it. I'm sure of it even with Etherion" Danica said. "You don't know what we got planned morsel" Lily growled.

 "Okay...without sounding...suspicious, what was your plan?" Danica asked. Lily narrowed her eyes. "Burn her to ash. Cut off her head. Crush her" Lily growled. "That would kill her body but what about her soul? Ebonheart has survived this long by inhabiting the bodies of my grandmother and mother. However, she’s not limited to my bloodline. Any female with strong enough fae blood could be a vessel for her soul. You kill her body and she'll just find another. You have thousands of borrowers here right? Let's just say that half the population is female and of that only 1% carry enough fae blood to suit her needs. That's still leaves about...60...70 candidates...including you since you lost your magic" she said. Lily didn’t like that connotation. She slapped aside the tray in front of the girl. "As if I'd let that two-bit magic Hitler inside of me!" Lily yelled. "You wouldn't have a choice! My mother didn't either..." Danica yelled.

"Ebony is my mother...not Ebonheart" she said softly. Lily wasn't about to feel sorry for the girl. "And I take it you have a solution to the problem? You better have" Lily warned. "I'm the solution...or better yet my blood. You're familiar with soul gems right?" she asked. Lily nodded. "Then you know that the best ones can be made with the blood of the host body containing the soul" Danica said. "I seriously doubt Ebonheart is going to stand still and let us take a blood sample" Lily scowled. "No, ehat I'm saying is use my blood as a substitute. I'm her...I'm Ebony's biological daughter so I share her blood. Use it to craft a gem to imprison her soul. She can't take a host of that happens" Danica said. Lily grabbed the girl and squeezed. "That is NOT eliminating her permanently!" Lily yelled. "It's...the best option! You can't kill a soul! Souls are pure energy and even Etherion can't destroy energy! " Danica yelled as the air was squeezed out her lungs. "Bullshit! Oberon told me he's killed Slaugh! They're the souls of evil fae! You wasted my time and you're going to pay for it!" Lily said raising her up. Danica saw her opening her mouth and kicked her legs and feet.  "Because they're enchanted souls! Infused with fire magic! It made them vulnerable and even then they were more like purified than killed! Please don't eat me!" Danica shrieked. Lily closed her mouth and lowered her.

Lily was forced to admit she had a valid point. "And she knows that doesn't she? That's why she never assumed that power" Lily muttered. Danica quickly nodded as she dangled from her pinched fingers. Lily reached over to the nightstand and pressed a button on a wired box. "Susan? Come to the third room on the right on the first level. Got a job for you" Lily said. "You sure you want me to leave Rose's side?" Susan asked. "Has she got better?" Lily asked. "No, she hasn't" Susan replied. "Then come here" Lily sighed. The giantess placed Danica on the nightstand. "Put your clothes on" she said softly. Danica quickly did hoping that the woman wouldn't command that if she was going to kill her. Once done, Lily placed her on the floor. "What's going to happen to me?" Danica asked. "...you fulfilled your part of the bargain. So will I. I must ask. Why did you turn on her?" Lily asked.

"She doesn't love me. She acts like it but I'm just a vessel for her. No mother would advocate the rape of their daughter" Danica replied. Lily tapped her giant bare foot in front of her. Danica watched as her pink sole came into view before coming right down. "So, it was because you were slighted. Wasn't because you had a change of heart" Lily said coldly. Danica didn't want to refute that. Didn't want to risk being at the business end of her sole. "You think I'll squish you if you say the wrong thing?" Lily asked reading her expression. Danica nodded. Susan appeared slipping through the cracked door. Lily bent down. "I said no harm would come to you. You have spent your entire life watching you and yours fucking helpless people over till it's become instinct. You have much to learn how one should live their life. Fortunately, I have just the person who can give you a glimpse of what it's like to be one of the humblest people there is. Susan?" Lily asked.

"She worth keeping alive?" Susan promptly asked. "Apparently yes. I want you to show her the colony.  Show her what borrowers are truly like. If she harms even one of them, you have full authorization to use arcane" Lily said staring right at Danica. "This ought to be interesting. Come along girl and no funny shit" Susan said yanking Danica by the arm. It was a long walk to the sunroom for her. "Don't tell me you're tired yet?" Susan asked seeing her slow down. "I've never walked this much shrunk before. It was like a quarter mile" Danica said. "More like 800 ft. our size. Better tough ten up fast. We got way more walkin' to do" Susan said as she had them pass into the sunroom. "This be the entrance to the colony. Keep walkin'" Susan said to her. Danica was floored by the sheer magnitude of what lay before and above her.

"Holy shit! How many live here?!" Danica asked. "Hard to say. Some left to start their own lives in the last few months or so with the new borrower rights laws. I'm  guessing 12,500 or so" Susan replied looking at people as they walked by. "And they all live in these homes?" Danica asked. "Mostly. Some live above shops or in apartments but mostly single homes" Susan replied. "They look so realistic. Everything looks so normal. Are those real street signs?" she asked. "Lily went the extra mile when she created that place. Real beds, toilets, and baths. Electric lighting. Street signs so they don't get lost. She even encouraged them to make their own economy. That's not including the social projects. Schools for kids, day care centers for working parents, grief counselors for those lost or murdered. Murdered by humans like you" Susan said staring down the girl. "Look above you"

"That dome is an engineering marvel. Inch think reinforced glass to protect us from predators and the elements. Heating elements to melt snow so it won't cave in. Polarized glass so it won't cook us in the summer. Lily told me she spent 2.4 million pounds on it. Said it like someone like you would buy a loaf of bread" Susan said stretching her neck. "All this for some weak little things?!" Danica said. Susan glared at her as Danica clapped her hand over her mouth. "See that truth drug still kickin'. You humans have this thing about judging someone by their looks. Skin tone, their hair, their clothes, and of course their size. But you're the worse for it aren't you?" Susan asked. "Wha...what do you mean? I'm not racist" Danica said. Susan had her sit on a nearby bench before sitting next to her.

"Naw. Don't mean that and you know it. I can smell it on you girl. Borrowers have four times the sense of smell humans do but me? Me I'm around 7 or so. When I lost my sight, my other senses kicked into overdrive. Hell, I couldn't even live here due to the smells. Takes some concentration for me right now. Yeah, past the bacon and eggs and toast on your breath I smell something else...blood. Blood and exposed tore up flesh. You ate someone our size, chewed them up good, and didn't brush your teeth or nothing within the last 24 hrs. And you got the guts to show up on our front door" Susan hissed. Danica began to sweat. "Your heart poundin' and your sweat confirms that. Don't need no drug to fuss you out. Your sweaty hands and feet tell me I'm on track. You get off on killing people because their small and weak?" Susan asked. Danica didn't have time to shake her head before Sudan moved with astonishing speed gripping the girl by her neck with one hand and lifting her off the bench.

"Acck..." Danica coughed trying to breathe. "You're small and weak now. Just a twist of my wrist and your neck snaps like a matchstick. Might make me feel better seeing what Jacob did to Rose. That girl is the closest I got to a daughter. Yeah...should just kill ya" Susan hissed. "Lily...promised" Danica struggled. "That she did and she'll chew me out good if I just killed ya for the shits and giggles. Been chewed out before by her, figuratively and literally" Susan said. "Ple...ple..." Danica said shedding tears as the blackness of unconscious was coming for her. Susan let go of her watching the girl fall back onto the bench coughing and gasping for air. "My girl got enough on her mind without me having to add to it" Susan hissed. An awkward minute or so passed. "Rose? What...what about her?" Danica asked. "Why you care?" Susan sneered. Danica looked away. "That Jacob bastard was caught by her spying on us for your mom. Tortured the girl something fierce. She was barely alive when Keith and Claire rescued her" Susan said.

"I didn't know anything about that" Danica said. Susan looked at her with rage. "I mean the torture part" she explained. Susan knew she was telling the truth about that. "How...how bad was it?" Danica asked curious. "Her legs were shattered. Arms broken. Punctured lung and her godamnned liver was split in two just to name a few. Keith told me it was like putting together a living jigsaw puzzle. Girl was probably praying for death as she was raped until her fucking uterus was...was..." Susan said sobbing softly. Danica looked at her sandaled feet not wanting to think about what she heard. People carrying items and driving carts passed them by. A girl no older than 5 was hurriedly behind them and dropped something. Danica got up and went over. "Wait sweetie. You dropped a... what is it?" she asked holding the thing. "Scrabbles! Thank you!" the girl said taking the doll from her. The girl ran to catch up with her parents and waved at Danica. Danica found herself waving back.

"Why did you do that?" Susan asked. "I didn't want her to lose it" Danica shrugged. "Why you give a shit? You ate kids before haven't you?" Susan asked. Danica bit her lip. "She's barely an inch tall. If you were your regular size she could free fall right down your throat. So, if you ate kids her age and size, why do you give a fuck how she feels?" Susan asked roughly. Danica turned away from her gaze. "When you're our size you see us as equals. You just saw a kid who'd miss her dolly not some yummy snack. The past isn't so easy to shrug off. Your sins not so easy to dismiss. This looks like a normal village to you but each person here is at the mercy of the outside world. You humans grew up at the top of the food chain with not a care. Some good and then some like you. I want you to see something. Stand up and come with me" Susan said. Susan led her down the block and stopped in front of a shop. She had Danica walk in. "Two honey rolls please" Susan asked slapping down some currency. Susan handed one to her. Danica bit into it.

"Damn it's good!" she said. "Why thank you! Fresh from the oven with a touch of honey and sugar. My own recipe" a young woman said winking. "Ruthie. You should be getting ready to evacuate into the mansion" Susan said chewing. "I know Suzie. Just finishing a big batch to take with us you know" the woman said. "Well make sure ya don't forget. Traffic is gonna be a bitch tonight" Susan warned. Susan walked out followed by Danica. "Delicious isn't it?" Susan asked. "Fantastic!" Danica replied sucking her fingers. "Ruthie dreams of being a pastry chef in the outside world.  She is what you might call a first generation. Born and raised in the colony not truly knowing the dangers of the human world. Humans that would rape her, turn her into a sex toy, or dispose of her on a fetish website for likes and subscribers. After seeing her on our level, is she so different from humans?" Susan asked.

"...no, she's not" Danica replied softly. "Then why kill so many people because they were smaller than you?" Susan asked with tears in her eyes. "BECAUSE IT WAS EXPECTED OF ME!" Danica screamed. The girl stood there pitifully sobbing. Susan rubbed her forehead exasperated. Scratching symbols into the street with her sword, Susan quickly grew to human sized. Her shadow blocking out the light, Danica looked up and squealed as Susan picked her up. "Hush now. I'd figure we could talk more with some privacy" Susan said softly carrying her across the colony. After ten minutes of very careful steps, Sudan sat down in the grass beyond the colony outside streets. "What is this place?" Danica asked. "One of several common grounds. When borrowers want some peace and quiet or the kids want some open space to run around and play, they come to the common grounds. What did you mean by you were expected to?" Susan asked. "It's a long story" Danica said. "The best ones are and we got the time" Susan said. Danica felt the warmth of Susan’s palm and stretched out her legs.

"My first clear memory is my mom hugging me so tight it hurt. She was crying and clutching me tightly. My father pulled me away and she screamed trying to grasp me. He was holding a red stone and there was a flash. Suddenly, dad was enormous. I couldn't even see his face. All I could see was his worn shoes. "If you don't she will be punished" I heard him say. "You wouldn't! She's your daughter too!" mom said. "There's time to have another. Your choice Ebony" he said. Mom was far away enough I could see her face. She was utterly terrified. "I'll do it. Don't hurt my baby" mom said. "Good. You knew this day was coming. That one day it would be your turn" he said. "...yes. Just give me a minute with Danica. Please that's all I ask" she said. "One minute" he said. Mom walked over to me. The floor vibrated with every step as she got near. I felt myself wanting to run as her giant bare feet got closer and closer. They stopped within a foot of me."

"I remember her toes. Long, the nails painted pink with sparkles. They were pretty and her feet smelled like the strawberry lotion she would put on my skin. Her manicured hand reached down and picked me up ever so gently. Her palm was warm and sweaty. My bare feet slipped as I tried to stand in it. She cupped her hands to protect me from falling. She brought me close to her face. Her huge face with eyes red from crying. Her teeth chattered as she stared at my shrunken form. "Mommy? Why is everything so big?" I asked. "Daddy used magic sweetie to make you small" she replied. "Like Tinkerbell small?" I asked innocently. She turned away shedding tears. "Yes pumpkin. Like Tinkerbell small. Mommy has to go see grandma and when she comes back she's going to be kinda different" she said trying to smile. "Different?" I asked. "Mommy will be...quiet. She won't talk as much and she might be...mean sometimes" she said shaking. "You won't love me anymore?" I asked crying."

"Susan...I've seen heartbreak many times. Many times, because of what I did but that was the first time I’ve seen it. My words cut deeper than any knife. "NO! Mommy will always love you! ALWAYS!" she yelled hurting my ears. She brought me to her mouth and for a moment I thought she was going to eat me. She smothered me with kisses so much my clothes were caked with lipstick. "Times up Ebony" dad said. "Please just another minute!" she yelled. Dad snatched me from her before she could react. "Go into the room now" he said. Mom shuffled into the adjacent room where my grandmother lay in her bed. I could see form dad's hand, mom placing her hand over grandma's heart. She looked at her. "Please mom. For the love of God please" she begged. Grandma with her shaking hand reached up. Mom smiled trying to grasp it until grandma slapped it away to touch her heart."

"The red stone in his hand glowed bright red like a big Christmas tree light and mom screamed. I tried to get free of dad, but he closed his fist trapping me. The screaming went on for maybe a minute before it stopped. "Did it work?" he asked. "Perfectly. Been a long time since I had a body this young" she said. Moms voice...it sounded so...weird. Like someone playing the wrong chord of a song. "What about the body?" he asked. "Call an ambulance. It'll look like I passed in my sleep" mom said. With dad opening his fist, I saw grandma dead. Her eyes frozen open and her mouth in this creepy grin. Everything changed after that day. My mother was no longer my mother. She was Ebonheart" Danica said softly. "My god girl. How old was you?" Susan asked. "Well, it was a year before I went to kindergarten, so I guess I was four years old" Danica replied. "And you saw your momma possessed by that thing?" Susan asked.

Danica nodded. "I learned later what had happened. Ebonheart was in my grandmother and she had a stroke. She had promised my father power if he served her. When she was caught off guard, he enacted the spell on her behalf" she said. "Why? Wouldn't she just do it automatically if she died?" Susan asked. "And be at my mother's mercy for food, hygiene, and whatnot for whatever how many years? And that's not assuming mom didn't take me and run away somewhere" Danica replied. Susan nodded conceding that point. "She wouldn't play with me anymore. Dad mysteriously left not long after. She was cold to me like someone had turned the air conditioning up in her heart. And then something unexpected happened. A drunk driver ran a light and hit us. I was just scratched up by my mother's body was pretty banged up."

"She was under heavy medication at home and when she was really doped up, my real mom came out. Somehow, the drugs suppressed Ebonheart's control. She would play with me, hug and kiss me constantly, even painted my nails. Eventually, she stopped taking the meds and Ebonheart returned. I began sneaking meds in her food just to see my real mom again but that didn't last long at all. Ebonheart punished me by shrinking me and making me sleep in a shoebox for an entire summer. Other 8-year-old kids spent their summers playing in a pool and eating junk food. I played in a bathroom sink and ate crumbs of food!" Danica yelled slamming her fist into Susan's palm flesh. "After that, I did anything to avoid her anger. Did everything asked of me. When I became 12, she began to teach me arcane. The simplest spells. Wind spells, scrying for lost shit, healing spells. She was a tough teacher is the nicest way to describe it."

"By my 13th birthday, I had mastered the basics and moved onto a spell that I actually liked. The shrinking spell. Shrinking random stuff was super fun. Cars, trees, all kinds of stuff and then I fucked up. She had taken me on a trip for her job and we had pulled over into a rest stop so we could go pee. While she was inside, I saw a really pretty red sports car parked and I got out the car. Went over and made sure nobody saw me. Shrank it right down small enough it would fit in one hand. Carried it back to the car and got in just as she was coming back. "We'll stop at a motel when we get to the next town" she said. I placed the car in my pocket for safe keeping. So, we're putting the luggage on the floor and suddenly there's a funny beeping coming from my pocket. "Danica...what is that coming from your pocket?" she asked. I pulled out the car. The alarm system had gone off. "You know the rules about magic in the open" she growled motioning for me to hand it over. "Nobody saw me! I made sure of it!" I said scared giving it to her. She looked at the car carefully. "You are wrong" she said ripping the door open and shaking the car over the table. A man and a woman fell out of it. Barely an inch tall and looking at us with sheer terror."

"Take care of them" she said coldly. "I knew what she meant but how easily she said it terrified me as well. They were too small for me to make our what they were saying but I knew they were begging for their lives. Like any kid, I've crushed bugs before, but these weren't bugs. They were real people with real lives. Lives that ended because I wanted a toy car. And my mind raced over what I could do to them. I raised my hand over the woman and then quickly slapped it down. There was a pop and then a warm wet feeling under my hand. The man chirped a scream as I raised it and her remains stuck to my palm. The man was so pissed at me he ran at me. I just stared as he leaped at me and fell to the floor coming up short. At that size, the fall doesn't kill you. Mom...Ebonheart told me that. Something about terminal velocity. He survived the fall and fell right before my foot. "Put him out of his misery" she said watching. I raised my bare foot right over him and I could see him throw his arms up in defense."

"I don't know why I didn't outright squish him. Curiosity maybe. Curious as to how it would feel too slowly kill another human being. My sole came down on him and I could feel him struggling. It tickled. I remember actually smiling about it. As I pushed down I wondered what his last thoughts were. Fear of dying? The pain? The smell of my foot? His wife (or girlfriend who I killed seconds before)? And there was the crunching. The wet warmth and the crunching of his itty-bitty bones. I wasn't even in high school and I ended the life of someone under my dirty foot. Susan...I had an orgasm from it" Danica said softly pulling her knees to her chest.

"She was proud of me. I've never seen her smile like that. Not Ebonheart. It was my mom's smile being worn by someone else, but I didn't care. "Good girl. Humans deserve nothing else" she said kissing my forehead. I wanted her approval of me to last so I asked her what she meant by that. She told me everything. Her plans to wipe out humanity. Saying they were an affront to the planet and would being ruin to it. Our job was to eradicate them for the betterment of all species. I said I'd help her. I really believed what she said. Humans killing and laying waste to one another over religion, ideology, resources, and even the way they look different. After reading about Rwanda, Syria, the crusades, the Cold War, can you truly blame me?" Danica asked.

"Humans are capable of great evil but also great good Danica" Susan replied. "Then explain why the assholes are always the ones in power" she asked. Susan laughed. "It seems that way doesn't it. Good people have a way of keeping the bad ones in check. Might take some time but it happens. Eventually, their voices are heard and evil slinks back into the shadows" Susan said to her. "Wish someone told me that when I was 13. Have you ever killed someone?" Danica asked. "Yes, I have as part of my job" Susan replied. "You know shrinking magic so you had to have used it on someone" Danica said. "The cleanest way to kill" Susan said. "And how did it feel?" Danica asked. Susan gritted her teeth as she found the question out of line. However, looking at her she really wanted to know. "Haunting. I've never felt such power, such control" she softly replied. "Then you do get it. It was like a drug for me Susan. Just one hit and I was hooked."

"Mom would go on trips and always bring back shrunken people. Homeless but mostly runaways. As I got older it just got worse. I was 15 and mom gave me a shrunk teenager to play with. She was 17 and ran away from her abusive father. Mom found her at the bus station and offered her warm meal, bath, and clean clothes. As soon as she got into the car, mom shrank her and stuffed her in the glovebox. She was handed to me as one would hand over a puppy. She was terrified of me and she screamed her head off as I tore off her filthy clothes to wash her in the sink. I ended up taking real care of her. Washed her, fed her, played with her, groomed her until mom scolded me wondering why she wasn't "serving" me. From then on, I abused her in every way imaginable. Made her lick my feet, call herself bug slut and shrinky. I even made a game out of it. Lick my feet for an hour or get raped by me for 10 minutes. She got to choose. And one night I left the window cracked open to let air in and I caught her trying to escape."

"I grabbed her just as she was squeezing her butt through the crack. I was so angry I squeezed her till her ribs cracked. She begged for her life. Said she wouldn't try that again but I was so angry. I felt betrayed. I kept her alive and I just wanted her to worship...no...to love me! That's what I wanted! I wanted someone to love me! So why did I eat her Susan?! I laid in my bed feeling her thrash in my stomach and I fucking fingered myself until she stopped. She was 17. Her name was Amanda, her favorite food was cheeseburgers. Favorite movie was The Nightmare Before Christmas. Beautiful red hair and cute freckles on her cheeks. And I ate her alive..." Danica sobbed.  Susan found herself using her finger to pet her head. "I knew I was a monster from then on and I embraced it. Demanded more humans. Smaller ones. Killed dozens by the week. Never asked where she got them but when she did I took them like they were candies. And when mom told me one day she would need my body, I didn't object. Knowing what that meant I didn't give a shit. As long as I could eat, rape, and crush people whenever I wanted, I didn’t give one shit. Well, the devil will soon collect her due huh?" she asked chuckling almost hysterically.

Susan brought her to her face. "I noticed you started calling her mom at the end" she said. Danica looked at her fearfully. "That's some story you told, and I can tell you this. I'm sorry you went through that but I'm not sorry you murdered people. You want absolution you ain't getting it" Susan said. Danica looked at her and began tearing off her clothes. "Leave at least a leg or arm for the plan" she said softly. "What are you...ummph!" Susan asked before Danica jumped into her open mouth.  Susan pulled her out. "Hell ya think ya doing?!" Susan yelled. "Poetic justice. It's only fair I should get eaten after what I've done. You said it yourself I can't be forgiven for what I've done" Danica said. "Jesus on a cracker! That doesn't mean you feed yourself to me like you're a crawdad! What I was trying to say was you won't get absolution from me or anyone else. Ya got to earn it for yourself" Susan said wiping the spit off the shrunken girl. "How I go about that?" Danica asked. "Working you ass off for those that need you. Every life you took you gotta earn that back with interest. Even if it takes your entire life" Susan replied. "But I killed so godamnned many!" Danica yelled. "Then you best start now" Susan said. Susan placed her on the grass and canceled the spell growing her back to normal.

"I can trust ya not to gobble them up right?" Susan asked. Danica nodded. "Then help me carry their shit to the mansion" she said. Susan and Danica spent the next several hours loading borrowers and their precious things into boxes and carrying them into the mansion. Susan kept a close eye on her but as the trips they made became more and more, she could see the girl enjoying the work. She was careful in picking the children up. Giggling at them at blushing as some of the boys said she was pretty. However, she notices once or twice Danica licking her lips unconsciously. It was just past noon when Susan told her to sit in the kitchen and rest. "How many do you think we moved?" Danica asked. "Oh...500 or so" Susan replied getting a bottled water out the refrigerator. "That's all?!" Danica yelled. "Slow going. They got their stuff and food to pack too. Speaking of food, ya hungry?" Susan asked. Danica nodded. "I’ll be back to whip up some grub" she said leaving her.

"Well, you're human sized. That's different" Lily said seeing her enter Rose's room. Susan sat on the bed. "Yeah. The Danica girl...she has potential" she said. "Hell you talking about?" Lily asked annoyed. "Don't get me wrong. She spilled her life to me and she did some nasty fucking shit. Like killed hundreds of people shit" she said. "Knew I shouldn't have made that deal!" Lily yelled standing up. Susan pulled her back down on the bed.  "Whoa. Slow down there. She knows what she did was wrong, and I told her she's going to spend the rest of her life making up for it" Susan said. "So it's just resolved just like that? She played you" Lily said. "Nobody plays me Lily. You forget I can literally smell a liar. That girl told me her life story. She said her first clear memory was her daddy threatening to squish her flat if her momma didn't turn her body over to Ebonheart. She was four years old Lily" Susan said. "A fair share of us had fucked up lives but we didn’t turn into monsters" Lily retorted. "You had the advantage of Puck keeping you on the straight and narrow and you had real magic to take care of yourself with. That girl had none of that."

"She killed people to impress her and then it was like a drug to her. She was a kid. She didn't have the maturity to sort of those feelings" Susan said. "You have killed people like her before who abused magic. People her age Susan" Lily said. "Yeah and I felt ultra shitty for it. My only saving grace was I was blind and didn't have to see their faces when I ended them. While I did my bid for queen and borrower country, some of those missions could've been handled differently. So, I'm telling you now, do not try to make this into a double standard thing" Susan said. "And this attitude has nothing to do with her being pretty?" Lily muttered softly. "I'll pretend that's the grief talking. If I didn't I'd slap you so hard your tongue would have whiplash. I have suffered more than you could ever know in your name. Put my dreams of motherhood on hold for you for years. Spent countless nights awake looking over your child. And here you allude that my judgement is swayed by a teenage girl? News flash, just because I'm a lesbian doesn't mean I want to fuck EVERY girl" Susan said shedding tears.

Susan moved to the side of Lily and gently picked Rose up in her hands. "This fragile girl in my hands is the closest I might get to having a kid. Half of my heart in my hands...the other sitting beside me. Apologize now" Susan hissed. "...I apologize. That was very wrong of me to say such a thing" Lily said quietly. Susan stared at Rose very quietly as her thumb petted the girl up and down her chest. Rose's blank expression tore at her. "Rose...It's Suzie. Please come back. We can play monopoly, binge watch something, go on a nature walk, I'll even paint your toenails that ugly black color you like. You know how I hate that right? How I said with such cute toes you're better of painting them...red" Susan said rubbing her tiny feet between her fingers. "Please...we love you so much. Just...just look at me if that's all you can do" Susan begged. Rose didn't even flinch. "Maybe if we grew her to human size?" Susan asked. "Keith voted it down. He said that it might help but when the spell ran out the sudden shrinking could cause a total collapse of her sanity" Lily replied. "As opposed to this?" Susan asked. "Screaming and foaming at the mouth? Yes" Lily replied. Susan tucked the small girl back in bed. "Call me if...you know" she said standing up. "Of course. And Susan...thanks for putting up with me" Lily said. "You're lucky you taste good down there" Susan winked. "Oh, is that all?" Lily chuckled. "And your heart" Susan said closing the door behind her.

"Bet you're starving. Time for sandwiches!" Susan said returning to the kitchen. "You okay? Look like you were crying" Danica asked. "Some bit of drama" Susan said getting the lunchmeat out. "About me?" Danica asked. Susan simply nodded. "Looks like you might've stuck up for me. Thanks" Danica said. "Don't prove me a fool girl" Susan warned putting the condiments down on the table. They made sandwiches and sat at the table to eat. Tiny Elena entered the room to get something to drink. She saw Danica and spat on the floor before leaving. "Guess it's harder for others" she muttered. "You don't got friends here that's for sure" Susan said eating.

Meanwhile in London...

"Wha..." Mai asked groggily sitting up. She was her normal size in the giant bed and panicked as last night's events came back in her mind. "My baby!" she yelled. "Over there" John said pointing to a shrunken woman breastfeeding her baby sitting on the bed hypnotized. Mai scrambled over to them. "Give her to me!" she yelled yanking the child from her breast. Mai checked her day-old infant out. She sighed seeing her was perfectly fine. Mai had her latch to her breast. "So you don't need a wet-nurse?" John asked. "Not from a filthy human" she hissed. "Guess we don't need you anymore" John said plucking the woman up. He shrugged before shoving her into his mouth and swallowing her whole. "We must get Jacob back. At the very least to make sure he doesn't speak of our plans to attack" she said. "No" John said gazing out the window. "What do you mean no?!  Mai shouted. "Aside from your real reasons for wanting him back, Jacob isn't enough of a liability to risk Ebonheart breaking her contract" he said. Mai stared at his back. "I wish to discuss this with her" she said.

"It was her decision. We discussed it as you rested. Your human mate isn't worth enough risking harm to Aspen and her brood. The matter is closed" John said annoyed. "Who are you to speak to me in such a way you powerless halfling?!" she yelled standing up on the bedsheet. "Halfling? Do you feel that way about that in your arms? You and that Jacob fucked up. You payed the penalty for it. Deal with it. You idiots should've brought the girl here when your cover was blown" he said turning to stare down at her. Mai glared up at the giant but held her tongue as she knew he had a valid point. "And we have bigger concerns. Danica ran away" he said. "What do you mean ran away?!" Mai asked. Ran away! Absconded! Flew the fuckin' coop! Sometime late last night. Left everything here including her clothes and phone. We scryed for her and found nothing" he muttered. "That could mean..."

"She's not dead. Ebonheart would’ve sensed that. She’s in a place shielded from such low-level spells. The Durmont mansion no doubt" he said. "She turned on us and you still won't go and take them back?!" Mai yelled. "If Aspen, Claire or Keith come to any harm by Ebonheart or an agent under her will the blood contract will be broken. It will be her that suffers its penalty. Our hands are tied" he said softly. "And you're fine with that?" she asked. "Of course not. We parted on less than amicable means. I've grown fond of the girl. I regret what I did to her. My wounded pride was probably the catalyst to this. Are you well enough to move about?" he asked. "I am now" she replied. John lowered his hand. "Get in. Your great leader is expected to arrive any moment" he said. Mai carefully stepped into his hands before he departed the room. 

"Xaimei phoned she was near the hotel" he said as the elevator took them down a floor. Mai grew anxious at the sound of that. "Is the stories true that she became the ruling voice of the council? Last I heard there was a power struggle in the family" she asked. "Yes, it's true. My halfwit uncle has been...removed. My sister now commands the family and under the agreement is the deciding voice of the council" he replied. The door dinged and they stepped out. "Nice of you to join me. Your sister should be here any minute" Ebony said waiting patiently in the lobby. Half a dozen normal sized humans kneeled around her. "I decided to unshrink some surviving humans to serve our friends. You look well Mai" Ebony said looking at the girl in his hand. "I am well thanks to your care as well as my child" she said bowing as best she could sitting in his palm. "How were the arrangement coming here?" John asked. "Not sure. I'm curious myself" Ebony replied. Outside the revolving door, a black van passed, and then another, and another. Once the last van passed, Ebony found that 10 had arrived. Two men carrying a red carpet came through the regular door followed by a single young girl. The men unfurled the carpet and the girl got on her knees placing a tiny woman on the carpet. "And that's how you make an entrance" Ebony whispered.

Xaimei walked slowly on the expanse of carpet. Dressed in fine silken clothes stopping at her ankles, it was bright red with gilded gold accents. Her hair in a bun and a fan in her right hand covering her mouth. Ruby red flats on her little feet as she took graceful steps. The familiar giant and giantess waited patiently as she came near.  "Traditional ceremonial garb only worn for the highest honored non-Mogwai. This is an honor Ebony" John whispered. "Then I better not embarrass myself" she said getting on her knees. Xaimei chuckled as those far bigger than her propositioned themselves. "Behold! the head of family West! Voice of the council and protector of the great Homeland has entered your presence!" one of the men shouted. "We observe the honor of the presence of Mistress Xaimei of family of the West" John said softly. Xaimei got ever closer to Ebony's face. She slipped off her right flat and raised her bare foot close to the giantess' lips. "To honor those that come before us, kiss my foot as thy are of my family" Xaimei said. Ebony kissed her tiny foot gently. "And you also brother" she said. John moved over and did the same. She turned around and looked at her giant servants. "Go! Bring in our troops! Have them bedded and taken care of!" she shouted regally. She watched the scramble about to fulfill her orders.

"Come sister. You are no doubt weary from travel. We have prepared lunch for your arrival" John said lowering his hand. "Sounds agreeable" she said stepping into his palm. John, Mai, Ebony, and Xaimei sat at an open table in the hotel restaurant. A waiter came by with a blank expression and served drinks. "Bring out the appetizers first" Ebony said. "By your will" he droned. "Now that nobody is looking, you can act normally Xaimei" Ebony chuckled. "Yes, I was putting on airs. I take all the humans are under control here like him?" Xaimei asked looking at the waiter through the kitchen door. "Every last one. Only a handful remain unshrunk" Ebony replied sipping her white wine. "How many are here?" Xaimei asked. "Still alive? A hundred or so. Plenty for your troops to have fun with. On a related note, how many did you bring anyway?" Ebony asked. "343 was the best I could do under short notice. However, I was able to include more than a few class A or better mages to lead my divisions" Xaimei replied.

The small girl took off her shoes and stretched out to relax. "It is an honor to serve under you" Mai said softly. Xaimei looked her over. Come here child and sit next to me" she commanded. Mai walked across the table and sat beside her. "The child is but days old and seems mixed" she said. "The father is a westerner human" Mai said nervous. "It's alright. As long as a single drop of Mogwai blood flows in her veins, she will be accepted under my watch" Xaimei said touching the infant. John cocked an eyebrow. "I don't see your daughter" Xaimei said to Ebony. There was an uncomfortable silence. "While you were in transit, there was an incident. Mai and my human spy were discovered. In the confusion, we lost my spy and my daughter...turned on us" Ebony hissed. The waiter returned with shrimp cocktails. "And when you find her?" Xaimei asked. "I will erase her mind. I need only her body" Ebony said ripping the tail off a shrimp. Mai cringed at the sound of ripping meat between the giantess' fingers.

"How badly were we compromised?" Xaimei asked tearing off a bit of shrimp. "They know we will arrive with a considerable force. They don't know the numbers or effectiveness of it though. Also, we have knowledge of their magic weapons. Once we have Danica and the infant, we can obliterate the mansion and colony with a few high-level spells. They won't have time to rally a counterattack before they're ashes" Ebony said. "You make it sound easy" John said. "There are static things in life. A cause and effect that can be measured and predicted. Observe" Ebony said motioning for the waiter to come to them. With a snap of her fingers, the waiter shrank down to a familiar 3 inches. She reached down, picked him up, and placed him on the table. "Now I will release some of my control over him" she said.

Andrew was a fresh faced 19-year-old boy and working as a waiter was his first real job. It payed shit but the tips were great and he had a thing for a cute bar hostess that worked the night shift. He was working the tables like he had been doing for two months now dreaming of asking the girl out that weekend. Then, his mind became fuzzy. "Wha...what happened...Aaah!" he yelled coming out of his stupor looking at a huge woman staring down at him. He looked around and saw she wasn't alone. A giant and two small Asian women. One carrying a baby. His surrounds looked familiar except everything was massive. "See how he looks around panicked? And now he will ask questions of me" Ebony said. "How? How..." Andrew stammered. "There. Cause and effect. I shrank you young man to prove a point.  And no, I won't undo it" she said. Andrew looked at John and the others. He went to the girls. "You know why he went to them John?" Ebony asked. "To protect them? To see if he can find help out of them?" John asked. "Right on both counts. Once you understand the nature of something, you can predict it. Little man, they won't help you and don't need your protection" Ebony said. She flashed her ring and Andrew went rigid.

"What's happening to me?! What did you do?!" he yelled. "Asserting control over your body. Xaimei, he's a virile boy. How long do you think he would last if her jerked off?" Ebony asked. "Looking at us? 2 minutes tops" she replied. "Hehe...sounds about right. Get rid of your clothes " Ebony commanded him. Andrew was freaking out as his body acted on his own. He shed his uniform and everything else.  His tiny dick popped free of his underwear and he stood nude before them. "Look at her boy" Ebony said. Answer didn't want to comply, but his head turned and his eyes focused on Xaimei. He looked upon her bare feet and traveled up her body until he stared at her face. His dick twitched. "She's very pretty isn't she?" Ebony asked. Andrew barely nodded. Xaimei grinned and opened her legs while pushing aside the bottom of her dress. According to tradition, panties weren't worn under it. His dick became erect in seconds. "Now jerk off for her" Ebony said. Andrew grasped his shaft and began jerking.

"Please stop this...this isn’t right!" he yelled masturbating. "There are certain things at play here John. One thing leads to another and then another. He pleads for help, but his instincts scream to fuck your sister. It's a survival mechanism. To breed at all costs. He's terrified out of his mind but right now his instincts are to force his tiny dick in her and make a baby. Isn't that right boy?" she asked. "Not...not true..." he groaned. "Bullshit. You're thinking about her as we speak. Those slender flawless feet and toes. Milky white skin, Ample breasts straining against her dress. Her almond colored eyes looking dead at you. Thinking slyly of cumming in her. Her belly swelling with your child. Her breasts weeping mother's milk to feed your offspring. There! See how he tenses up? His leg muscles ready for that final push. His prostrate throbbing, seminal ducts ready to release his load" Ebony said. "You're going to cum for me?" Xaimei asked. Andrew heard her voice and shot rope after tiny rope of semen towards her only to have it land and disappear into the white tablecloth.

"Oh god...oh god..." he whined. He was too focused on Xaimei to notice Ebony lunged down and snapped him up in her mouth. His little legs kicking the air until she slurped him in. With a dignified gulp, she sent him to her belly. "A leads to B which leads to C. I know Keith. He'll try some quick fakeout. Oberon will coach him about how to fight someone like me. Claire will be emotionally unstable as her mind will be focused on either protecting her loved ones or not harming the baby. Lily will try to lead by inspiration. And Elena? She's too softhearted. They will break rank under our onslaught as easily as I break a nail. Now where's the godamnned entree?" Ebony asked. "I think you ate the guy who was going to bring it out" John replied. "I see. I'll help the chef and get some food" Ebony said standing up. "If it’s alright, may I retire in your room. I still feel tired" Mai said. "Go ahead get your rest" Xaimei said. Mai bowed to her and drifted to the floor before leaving. Xaimei and John were left alone.

"So...what you said to Mai about her daughter is unlike you" John said. "What do you mean?" she asked. "You hate half breeds. You used to give me all kinds of shit about my human half...or have you forgotten?" he asked. "I did. It was an ignorant thing to do" she muttered looking at her feet. "An ignorant...sister you used to shrink me and bully me to no ends. Making me sleep in your smelly slippers. Press your foot on me. Spat on me" he said trying to contain his anger. "I remember. A childish thing by a child" she said sighing. "A childish thing? You continued until I left the house!" he yelled. The tiny woman looked up at him. John paused as the last time he showed outrage to her he found his way up her ass. "Recent events have made me rethink some old ideas" she said. "Care to share with me?" John asked leaning in. "You know of Wen right? You remember her?" she asked. "The family servant. The human father brought back to care for you" he replied. "She is my true mother and no she isn't a human" she said. "...then what is she?" he asked. "A Yaksha" she replied.

John covered his mouth and looked away. "Oh, holy shit. That's even worse than a human. And here you have me grief for years for being half human. the irony" he chuckled. Xaimei stood up and walked over to his right hand resting on the table. She suddenly hugged his finger. "What...what are you doing?" he asked pulling back. "I cannot express how sorry I am for hating you. You can't help being half human no more than I can help being half Yaksha. I truly ask forgiveness" she said looking at him. The way she bowed before him felt creepy. Not once did she ever show good tidings to him. "Why? Why tell me this? This is a damning thing for people to know. I could take control of the family just on this" he said. "Losing father. Having to kill our useless uncle has taught me the value of family. You are the last male of our family and that alone deserves respect. You are my younger brother and I love you" she replied. "Stop...stop it" he said cringing.

"I deserve your scorn and skepticism...and probably more" she muttered. "Damn right you do. Xaimei is perfect. Xaimei mastered the basics so early. Xaimei performed perfectly on her first assignment. That's all I heard constantly. Remember the night you came back from that assignment? I tried to hug you and you slapped me. Taught me never to show love to you" he said. She saw the pain in her giant younger brother's eyes. "Forgive me. That was due to the shock of our uncle raping me earlier that day" she said. His rage and pain disappeared instantly. "He...he did what?" John asked. "He raped me" she said softly looking away. His hands went to pick her up. Most of his life, he despised his older sister and as he held her in his hands she felt so fragile and weak. He faintly heard her sobbing. "I didn't know" he muttered. "Maybe I should've told you. Should've told you many things. It could've changed things between us" she said. "Well...I know now. The things you said before about loving me...did you mean it?" he asked. She looked dead in his eyes and nodded. John brought her close to his lips. With a gentle kiss of her head, Xaimei felt like a great weight was lifted from her shoulders. "Love you too" he said softly.

"Aww...that's sweet" Ebony said returning with a tray of food. "Thought you two didn't get along" she said. "We had a talk. Family stuff" John said. "I see. Well, forgive the stereotypical fish and chips but the chef said it’s the specialty" she said. "Brother, feed me" Xaimei commanded. John looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Please?" she added. "Better" he said smiling. Ebony watched him tear off bits of fried fish and give it to his sister to cutely nibble on. The display made her think of her daughter. She was pissed beyond belief of her betrayal but couldn't shake the instincts of parenthood or more precisely the feelings of love that came with it. Of all the thousands of years of her existence, Ebonheart didn't know motherhood until 1949. Her first child was born that year and the father a German bricklayer. To feel a life grow in her belly was a marvelous thing. To breastfeed it fantastic. And to watch her grow over the years a magic of itself. Then in 1975, she lost her daughter to a human.

The body found near the wall. Apparently, a soviet officer shot her trying to climb underneath a part of the Berlin Wall. For what reasons she did that nobody knew. A devastating blow to Ebonheart as for that brief part of time, she had ignored her quest to exterminate humanity to focus on being a mother and possibly a grandmother as the autopsy showed her child was with child of her own. Her vengeance renewed, she used her arcane to track down the man who killed her. A simple matter after finding his name. Scrying his name, she found him living in a cottage in Saxony, a state of East Germany. It enraged her to find out it was pure chance he was even there to shoot her child. Deployed at the last moment to give more security along the wall due to protests and then sent right back home a week later. Within two days, she stood outside the cottage as the winter snow fell. Christmas was only a week away and she could see them happily sitting around the fireplace as a man read a story. Apparently, he had married a German girl and had a teenage son by her. A seemingly normal family if you didn't know the man blew the brains out of a young woman just a week and a half earlier. Ebonheart knocked on the door. "Guten nacht?" the woman asked. Ebonheart pushed right past her.

The man rose from his seat looking to the side for his pistol. She raised her hand into the air and her ring glared brightly. The boy heard his mother and father yell out as he was blinded by the light. His own body tingled strangely. He felt a chill on his skin. Softness under his bare feet. As his vision cleared, he gasped in shock as he stood on top of his own huge undergarments. The strange woman towered over him. "Johan!" he heard his mother yell as Ebonheart reached down and picked him up. It was easy to grab the others and she dropped them roughly on a table. The father went to shield them both as Ebonheart reached into her pocket and pulled out a photo. She slapped it on the table. "Remember her?" she asked in German. He glanced at the photo. "Do you or do you not?!" she yelled making them all jump. "No! Please. Whatever wicked power you used, please undo it. We've done nothing to you!" he yelled. "Baba yaga...baba yaga..." the woman muttered looking at the giantess. "No, I'm not the witch crone of your legends. Nor am I the totenkinder. I am Ebonheart and your husband took someone from me. This woman" she said loudly tapping her giant finger on the photo.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I have never seen this girl before!" the 3 1/2-inch man yelled up at her. "You took her a week and a half ago. You robbed her of life" she said coldly. The man took a step back realizing what she referred to. "Oh my god. The woman at the wall" he muttered. "Piotr?" his wife asked. "Anna...this girl..." he muttered. "Your husband killed my daughter. He pulled the trigger and splashed her brains out in the cold wet ground. Piotr was it? You owe me" Ebonheart said roughly. "Just...just let them go" he begged. "No, you are going to...no not you. He will do nicely" she said pointing to his son Johan. "No! Leave him alone!" Anna yelled hugging him. Ebonheart easily separated the two and grabbed the boy up. Twisting him around as she pinned him between her fingers, Ebonheart studied the boy.

Young but not too young for her needs which saved his life. A few years younger and she would've eaten him out of spite. Dusty blond hair and blue eyes thrilled her as it indicated Fae ancestry. A big bonus for her. Rosy cheeks and bare ass right to his tiny soles of his feet. He had not known one day of work or hardship with such unblemished skin. Her fingernail rested underneath his teeny scrotum which alarmed the boy. He began kicking his feet at her. "I suggest you stop otherwise you might end up a girl" she warned with a sick grin. The boy froze. Ebonheart placed the boy on the floor before her. His parents scrambled to the edge of the table panicked of what may happen. Her snow and mud caked shoes just a foot from him. "Please don't..." Piotr muttered. She began taking off her clothes before them. Once naked, she placed her feet on opposite sides of him. Johan stared shocked at her as it was the first woman other than his mother he had seen naked and she was so huge he couldn't see her face.

"God in heaven...what does she plan to do?!" Piotr yelled. "My plan? My plan is for your son to impregnate me" she replied snapping her fingers. Johan was normal size once more and quickly turned to look at his parents. It was clear to him now how small he had been just seconds before. "You try to help them...you all die. You try to hurt me...you all die slowly" she said as if reading his mind. She spun him around and pushed him to the floor. "He's just a boy!" Anna screamed. "Old enough to breed me" Ebonheart hissed as she guided his cock into her. She bounced up and down his small shaft ignoring his mother's crying and Johan's whimpering. Being young, he only lasted a minute before cumming inside her. She was displeased he lasting so little time but got a sick joy out of being his first. The boy didn't move from where he lay. "Leave him. I'll give you a child just leave him" his father pleaded. "First, your blood is weak. And second, I'd rather be barren than carry your child. Now what do you have to eat around here?" she said slipping off his son. She ate some food and drank some beer before assaulting the young teenage boy once more.

This went on for days. No less than 4 times a day she raped him while his parents watched. Johan had gone catatonic by the fifth day just staring off into space and grunting as he shot his load. Christmas Day came, and she has them all eating on the table. Your kind is stupid beyond reason. You celebrate a birthday for a figure you don't even know ever lived. A day created to prevent a civil war for a dying empire" Ebonheart said chewing sausage. They all looked at her. "I know all about your customs and beliefs. I was around for the beginning of some of them. "You talk as if you’re not human. Figures as only a monster would rape an innocent boy" Anna said glaring at the giantess. "You speak to me of monsters? What did your people do this century? You tried your best to exterminate a population because a failed art student told you to. What kind of people gasses to death babies? And you Piotr? Did you ever tell your son what the Red army did when they invaded Berlin? You tell him how they raped and murdered 240,000 women? And you have the nerve to speak to me about monsters. Your kind have the advantages of being big and able to have kids at the drop of a hat. And what do you do? Nukes? Mass murders and rapes! Lay waste to entire countries. You deserve what's coming your way" she said.

"And what is that?" Piotr asked. "Me" Ebonheart replied skewering a sausage. Days came and went, and the New year was upon them. Ebonheart held a shrunken Johan and played with him like a toy as she stared into the fireplace. His parents confined to an old toybox could not see the perversions. "Tomorrow I will be leaving as you have fulfilled your task" she said. Johan felt her massive fingers leave his crotch as she had taken to massaging it from the rough abuse. He looked at her. "I'm with child. I missed the time that should bleed" she said. He said nothing. "I thought you should know" she said standing up. She cracked open the toy box and dropped him inside. Anna and his father rushed to comfort the boy as usual. "Hear what she said? She's leaving" Anna said. "That and our son gave her a child. Anna...now that she has what she needs..."

"She will kill us" Anna said finishing. There was no escaping that box. At their size, the lid weighted over a metric ton. Just a slight crack fed them a bit of light and oxygen. All they could do was wait till morning to see what the woman had in store for them. Morning came and Ebonheart opened the box. She placed all three side by side on the table. She watched them immediately hug one another. "Since I'm leaving, you three have a choice of what will happen to you from here on out. Even though he gave me a child, that doesn't balance the scales. There is another debt to pay and it will be by your choosing. First option, you all remain shrunk for the rest of your lives and I place you somewhere safe. You will scrounge around for food and fear the danger of humans finding you. Second choice, I unshrink you, but Piotr here will die. Either way you will all remember the pain I've been given for the rest of your lives" she said. They were all aghast at her ultimatums.

"The second! Do what you will but let them go!" Piotr shouted. "Thank about this. When you fail to report for duty, they will come looking for you and most likely them. How does the Soviets handle soldiers that go AWOL?" she asked. The tiny man looked wide eyed. "I...they..." he stammered. "The first...the first choice" he sobbed. Ebonheart nodded. She placed them in the toy box and left the cottage. She left the lid open and listened to the talk. "This is my fault. I've destroyed us" the man muttered. Ebonheart glanced down as she drove. Anna and Johan hugged the broken man. Normally such a thing would irritate her to no end but, she wanted them to choose this. For in their panic they had forgotten one critical thing. She had made it to east Berlin and stopped at a small pub not far from the wall. It was the dead of night as Ebonheart broke into the place. One by one she placed them on the floor. It will be warm here and you have access to food and water. As I said a safe place" she said. "And you will let us go just like that? What if we told someone about you?" Johan asked. Anna clapped her hand around his mouth. They looked up terrified as the boy might've doomed them.

"You won’t. Gremlins are killed on sight in this part of the world. Wait...you don't think people will see you as humans do you?" Ebonheart chuckled. That realization sunk in immediately. "You planned this! You wanted me to choose this!" Piotr yelled. "If this is too much to bear, I can crush you all right now" she said. They backed away. "Thought so. Enjoy your new role in the food chain" Ebonheart laughed leaving them. 9 months later she gave birth to a baby girl as she knew she would. When the doctor asked the baby's name, Ebonheart thought back on the night she told Johan she was pregnant. How she stared at the fire and the black burnt ash. "Ebony, her name is Ebony" she replied. The Doctor looked at her strangely wondering why a woman would call a Caucasian child Ebony. He shrugged it off thinking she was some kind of old hippie and handed her the infant.