Kirinhalut kept her grip tight, making sure the only thing I saw was the darkness inside her hand, but not tight enough to keep crushing me.  I knew that bit of mercy was not out of concern for my welfare.  Rather, she simply did not want to come up with a lie to explain not only why she had flattened me, but how I was still alive.  Besides, the process of my body stitching itself back together was agonizing on its own, and that would be enough to sustain her.

Just as she estimated, my limbs finished reforming right when the party exited the dungeon.  At the slightest hint of movement on my part she clenched her fist, sealing me in a pocket of flesh.  My arms were held so tightly I could barely wiggle my fingers, and trying to kick my way through as though I were swimming was out of the question.  Her grip would not let me open my mouth, either, so I was left taking shallow, brimstone-tinged breaths through my nose.

When she finally loosened her grip, it was just so she could grab the wagon’s frame and pull herself up.  The movement tossed me around between her fingers and the heel of her palm hard enough that I wished her hand were still holding me in place.  It was only through sheer luck that she did not drop me on the ground, though I was sure she had an explanation ready to go just in case.

Now that she was in full view of the party again, Kiri had to place nice.  She kept me in the middle of her upturned palm, holding me around waist level so her torso could loom over me like a tower.  Her chest was large enough that I could not see anything past it, but I imagined her subtle grin as she reaffirmed her dominance in my mind.  From her palm I could see Margret taking a seat at the reins, her head about level with me, while Sondra climbed up and Llelwyl made sure everything was properly hooked together, Bushwack still riding on her shoulder.

“Why don’t we let our guests ride up front?” Margret asked cheerily.  “I’m sure they’d appreciate the breeze and fresh air after being locked up in that dark chamber for so long.”

“Yeah, sure,” Sondra replied.  “I could use the time to identify some of the stuff we just got anyway.”  A hollow thud accompanied each step of her flats as she walked by, and the old wood creaked and groaned under her weight.  Once she was in the back, Kirinhalut lowered her hand onto the empty seat beside her and dumped me onto it, then set her hand down beside me.  It was slender, but many times thicker than me lying down; just another way of rubbing how small she had made me in my face.

Llelwyl did not take the suggestion as well.  “Like hell!” she shouted, climbing into the wagon.  “If Sondra wants to give up her seat for Kiri that’s fine, but I am not giving mine to the shrunken human!  He’s even smaller than Bush, and she doesn’t get her own seat and she’s a contributing member of this party!  At best he should have to perch somewhere like she does.”  She stood in front of me, close enough that her boots touched the seat while she leaned down toward Margret and jabbed a finger at her.  It took a long time for me to look all the way up her, and my gaze was not quite past her legs when Margret responded.

“Aw, come on Lell, have a heart!” she said.  “It’s just until we get back to town, and let’s be honest, he could probably use a win or two after what he’s been through.”

“No!” Llelwyl insisted.  “No way!  I’ll abide having to drag him along, but I’m not changing how we do things for someone smaller than one of my arrowheads.  What’s next, do I have to give him my tent tonight?  Do we have to stop drinking out of mugs because he might fall in one?”

“No one’s asking you to do any of that, though.”  Margret’s voice was a lot less cheerful.  “It’s courtesy to let guests sit up front anyway.  You gave up your seat for Lord and Lady Leonet after we rescued them from their kidnappers, didn’t you?”

“Lord and Lady Leonet weren’t smaller than my thumb,” Llelwyl shot back, “and they offered us a deed of land in their duchy.  What’s he going to offer, an enchanted needle and a button to sew on?”

“Ladies, please!” Kirinhalut cut in.  “There’s no need to argue like this over something so easily resolved.  We’re so thankful for the rescue, after all, and we don’t want to impose any more than we already are.  I’m fine holding him in my lap while we ride, it’s really not a big deal.  Trust me, we got plenty comfortable with each other before you showed up.”

“Well, I’m glad someone sees sense,” Llelwyl said triumphantly, and Margret rolled her eyes before turning away to watch the trail.  “I would be glad to ride beside a refined, elegant lady such as yourself, Kiri.”  The elf hung her bow on some hooks beside her then rotated on her heels, getting ready to sit down.

Kirinhalut quickly curled her fingers and rotated her hand, then shot a finger forward.  She struck me in the chest with her fingernail, sending me off-balance and staggering away from her.  I tripped over a raised ring in the wood and fell backwards, landing on my back in the middle of the open seat.  Have fun, bug! she forced into my mind.  Don’t worry, you’ll be flat enough there’s no way she’ll feel you.

Llelwyl towered over me, her legs alone larger than any building I had ever seen, and she had no idea I was below her.  The danger of my situation became very real when she began sitting down, sending her butt racing on a collision course toward me.  Her brown breeches were tight, perfect for dungeon delving and wilderness scouting since they would not get caught on anything.  They also provided a perfect outline of her rear, clinging tightly enough to each cheek to separate them and leave a small gulf where her crack was.

I was not fortunate enough to be in the small, open area where her crack would land.  Instead her left buttock landed right on me with unimaginable force.  At the moment of impact I cried out, both in pain and surprise, but her butt cheek muffled it completely.  In an instant my whole body was pulverized, and I felt all my bones shatter simultaneously.  The sensation was becoming too familiar, but I doubted I’d ever get used to it.  It was a uniquely tremendous amount of pain, and something no person should be able to survive.

Llelwyl shifted while she got situated, a series of subtle movements that were excruciatingly apparent to me.  Her butt rolled back and forth on the seat, trying to find the sweet spot by shifting her weight.  Every minute change moved the pressure to a different part of my body, and I got to feel the pain of being crushed again.  She flattened me more than I thought possible, squeezing me down like a rolling pin flattens dough.  Finally, as though she consciously picked the least comfortable position for me, she settled on crossing one leg over the other, pressing yet more of her titanic weight onto me.

The punishment did not stop simply because she stopped moving, however.  This road was little more than a well-used trail, full of potholes and crossed by thick roots.  Each bump bounced her into the air, and when she came back down it felt like she was sitting on me all over again.  Her butt relentlessly mashed me against the wood, and the brief time she was in the air just made it worse when she landed.  I could not even crawl out from under her during the breaks since my limbs had the consistency of taffy.

Worse still, the weight of a gigantic elf sitting on me was not the only discomfort I had to deal with.  The seat of her pants was rough, and when she moved her butt it felt like the top layer of my skin got scraped off repeatedly.  It got scorching hot beneath her, as well, with the wood acting as a sort of oven, and whatever Kirinhalut had done to me made it so I could not sweat.  Ironically, if I were flattened dough the heat would have been enough to make me rise as bread.  I also could not breathe, though Kirinhalut had demonstrated to me many times that it was impossible for me to asphyxiate.

The titanesses passed the time by talking, and while Llelwyl’s butt muffled sound entirely I was made aware of every time she spoke.  Each syllable made strong vibrations run through her body, and they quickly made it down to me.  When her woods shook my flimsy, puny body they were accompanied by a horrific buzz that suffused the area around me.  I wanted to clap my hands to my ears as some form of meager protection, but even had they not been crushed into uselessness there was no way I could overcome the gargantuan ass parked atop me.

I had no idea how long I spent under her butt, but when she stood I was temporarily blinded by the light.  By the time it faded, Llelwyl had already turned around and was stepping onto the seat.  The sole of her boot eclipsed her colossal body, and my ears were assaulted by a thud when the heel landed.  Her boot swung down, striking me with the sole beneath the ball of her foot.  A pain many times more immense than being trapped beneath her ass wracked my body as she stepped over the seat, putting all over her weight onto me, intensified by much harder material now covering my body.

When Llelwyl was gone, Kirinhalut reached over and grabbed me.  She practically had to peel me off the wood with a fingernail before getting a grip, and she was not gentle about pinching my leg.  After a disorienting rush I was upside down in front of her face, dangling in front of her nose.  Her entrancing brown eyes focused on me, full of mirth while she watched my compressed body sway under her grip.

“I asked her to get me something to drink from the back so I could grab you,” she whispered, her voice jabbing into me like thorns.  Despite how intrusive it was, I vastly preferred when she used telepathy.  “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Why?” I sputtered.  “Why did you do that?”

“Because it’s funny!” she answered, her eyes lighting up.  “You just got flattened by an elf who didn’t even know you were there.  Not only do I love your pain, but it’s a great way of reminding you how insignificant I’ve made you.”

“I’m well aware –“ she shook her hand, interrupting me as my body waved beneath her fingers.

“I didn’t say you could talk, bug,” she hissed.  “You’re not a person anymore, you’re an insect, and you need to start acting like one.  The smart ones here realize it, and soon the others will too.  When we get to a city no one will even know what you used to be, just that you need to be squashed.”

“You’re wro-“

“What did I say about talking?  That’s something people do, not bugs.  If you speak out of turn again, I’ll grow your lips together.”  She tilted her head forward to press her point home, and I stayed quiet.

Fortunately, she was done talking to me, and dropped me into her waiting palm.  She cupped her other hand over it, blocking all light from reaching me.  More importantly, it kept the others from seeing my paper-thin body in her hand and asking any questions.  My body could begin the long, painful process of restoring itself, away from prying eyes.

For the rest of the day I was kept in the makeshift chamber inside Kirinhalut’s hands, unable to escape even when my limbs regained their strength.  Her hands were not as good at filtering out sound as Llelwyl’s butt had been, however, and I could hear the entirety of their conversation.  It was mostly Llelwyl and Bushwack telling stories about their adventures over the years while Kirinhalut egged them on, but my ears perked up when the subject briefly turned to me.

“How’s the little guy doing up there?” Sondra called from the back.  “Does he need anything?”

“Yeah, I haven’t heard any annoying squeaks since we loaded up,” Llelwyl added, “what gives?”

“He’s just getting some rest,” Kirinhalut answered.  “He’s been through quite the ordeal over the past few months, so I figured I’d let him sleep in my hands.”  No matter how often she did it, I was always amazed with how she could bend the truth.  The only lie that she told just then had been implying that my ordeal was over now.