Heather yanked at the cuff again and again, the small chain rattling against the bars of Siggy's crate every time. When she finally accepted that she wasn't going to simply snap it loose, she was left panting and sweaty.

With a grunt of frustration she tried to attack the manacle itself.

At a glance it looked like a simple cuff of bent metal but as she tried to pry it away from her wrist, Heather discovered that it was far more complicated than she initially imagined. The band of metal had slight grooved teeth that interlocked with each other, making it easy to slide into place and hold but to actually open it back up required a great deal of force. She might have been able to open it up with both hands but there was no way she could do anything about it while bound.

Tears welled in her eyes and her cheeks flushed with humiliation as she realized that Lex or Emily would be able to open it up with just a few fingers.

Heather let her arm simply dangle from the bars of the cage while she slumped against the wall. She didn't even try to stop the sobs that came from her, her chest hitching and shoulders shuddering with every breath. Eventually, she ran out of tears and as the light of the day grew stronger, the shrunken woman finally managed to calm down.

Staring out across Lex's immense bedroom, a mixture of fear and boredom made her tiny legs start to bounce. She tried to rise up to her feet only for the manacle to pull painfully on her wrist. Looking down at it, she could tell that it had clearly been placed to dangle Siggy's wrist above her head while she sat, which meant that it chained her wrist near her waist when she tried to stand up in the crate.

Sitting with her legs sprawled across the dog bed, she sighed and listened for the tiny girl.

She could hear some kind of movement far away in the old house but Siggy was so small that Heather doubted she could hear her if she was screaming. The longer she sat there, the more she wondered if there would be any way to reason with the smaller girl but every time she did she just thought about what Siggy had shouted back at her about her promise to be a 'good girl.'

There had been so much anger in her little voice.

When she had seen the hollow look in Siggy's eyes, Heather had assumed that the girl was simply deadened to the humiliation and misery the giants inflicted on her but she realized now that the tiny girl had been fully broken.

The idea that she too could be forced to love her captors, in the same sick way that Siggy did, made her squirm uncomfortably. Heather had heard about Stockholm Syndrome, and she remembered an article years ago talking about one of the few studies done about the psychology of shrunken people that described them as suffering from it at rates high enough that it might allow a serious study of the disorder. She remembered the way she had shifted in her own bed as she read the article on her phone and when she had gone to bed that night, she had cuddled closer to Jason, terrified at the idea that something like that could happen to one of them or worse, Zoe.

Of course, it was years later that they would learn that both Jason and Zoe were Immune. She hadn't remembered the article at the time but now she wished she had, maybe it would have given her the moment's pause she needed not to run right into the hands of her jailers.

The front door opening and closing broke her from her reverie.

“Huh?” She looked out across the room, trying to process how much time had passed.

It was hard for her to judge how much stronger the sunlight was than it had been after Siggy had cuffed her but the rumble in her belly and the dryness of her throat told her that it had at least been a few hours.

Soprano thunder echoed up the stairs as Lex undoubtedly spoke to Siggy, their voice just distinct enough for Heather to recognize the cutesy cooing tone that they used to talk to the tiny girl. Then she heard the first stair creak under Lex's weight and her whole body began to shake as they ascended the stairs.

Each one of their footsteps was a hefty thud that made Heather flinch and her eyes tracked the growing shadow moving across the doorway. When Lex stepped into the room, the tiny woman couldn't stop herself from letting out a frightened yelp.

Lex stood just inside the room, their hands in their pockets and a disappointed look on their face. Siggy's head poked out of the breast pocket of their shirt, and Heather could feel the tiny girl's hazel eyes on her, the anger in her gaze almost palpable.

“Aw, Hot Mom,” Lex tutted as they shook their head. Despite the thick rugs on the floor, Heather could still feel the world tremble from Lex's approach. “Siggy told me that you've been a very bad girl.”

Their tall and thin frame was still large enough to cast everything in shadow. Staring straight ahead, all Heather could see was Lex's chinos and barely scuffed white sneakers. The vast shoes creaked as the giant wiggled their toes inside and let out a long sigh.

“First things first, I've decided I'm not going to tell Emily.”

“But Master-”

High above, Siggy's protest was cut off by Lex simply pushing her down further into the breast pocket with a single finger. They then leaned forward so that their bright blue eyes were looking down directly at Heather.

She stared up at the gigantic college student, her whole body trembling, but she managed to squeak out, “Th-thank you.”

“Running away would be bad enough,” Lex boomed above, “She's so excited to have her own shrinkee, she's been texting me all day between classes. It'd break her heart to know that you wanted to escape but knowing that you were going to take Siggy? She'd be devastated.”

Despite the absurdity of what Lex was saying, Heather felt the faintest stirring of guilt in her chest. She shook her head to banish the feelings away, reminding herself that the giant before her was talking about how Emily felt about owning other human beings.

“Sometimes I'll come back from class and they'll just be cuddling together on the couch watching movies,” they smiled and then scooped Siggy out of their breast pocket to bring the girl up to their face. Heather watched as Lex kissed the tiny girl and then nuzzled her with their nose, “You're such a little cutie, yes you are...”

Just as easily as they had been taken out, Siggy was dumped unceremoniously back into the pocket. Lex then turned their attention back to Heather, “All that being said though, I can't let this slide, especially not after yesterday.”

Lex squatted down and Heather immediately found herself trying to crawl backwards but she simply met the cold steel bars of the crate behind her. Lex's huge hand reached in, passing over Heather and then grabbing the manacle. She tried to pull away but the titanic coed's hand engulfed her entire arm with ease. With the rest of their fingers holding her arm in place, Heather watched as Lex used their thumb and forefinger to pinch the cuff.

The sudden increase in pressure made her suck in air through her teeth then the the manacle opened and her wrist slid out easily. Heather tried to scramble away but she was immediately met by Lex's powerful hands.

The gigantic blonde ripped her from the crate and then immediately tucked her flailing body under their arm like a football. She kicked and squirmed but all Heather met was billowy fabric and the surprisingly hard muscle beneath.

She felt Lex's footsteps more than heard them and her heart started to race when they came to a stop after only a few strides.

A light clicked on overhead and she realized they were in Lex's private bathroom. Unlike the other bathroom, it had a much more muted color scheme; the white tile was paired with a pale blue that instantly reminded her of the sea.

With their free hand, Lex turned on the bathtub's faucet and water suddenly roared in Heather's ears. She squirmed about and Lex gripped her with both hands before holding her out in front of them with a smile.

“Wh-what's going on...” Heather squirmed frantically, pushing against the powerful fingers around her chest.

“You have to be punished,” Lex explained calmly, “And since I'm not going to tell Emily, I can't do anything that might leave a mark.”

The words sent a chill down Heather's spine and then her mind went into overdrive as Lex's intentions became clear. “No, no, I'll be good,” she shouted, instantly thrashing against the giant hands around her, “Please, don't do this! I could die!”

The giant was already squatting down and lowering her to the growing water in the tub.

“Lots of things can kill shrinkees,” Lex said without a hint of sorrow, “It's a shame you're so big or else you would have realized that a lot more easily. I thought when I almost stepped on you this morning you understood but here we are...”

“Oh God, please, Lex, please don't-”

They plunged her beneath the icy cold water and the shock of it made her gasp enough that she felt the liquid rush into her body. She was yanked back out a second later, coughing and sputtering, but just as she was about to draw a new breath, Lex plunged her back below the surface.

Her limbs flashed around her as water plunged past her lips and down her throat. She tried to swallow it but that only made her gag even harder before she was yanked back up into the air. Heather spat and tried to plead but all that came out were hacking coughs.

Again and again, Lex dunked her down beneath the water.

Her lungs burned, her limbs ached, and the world came in and out of focus.

She couldn't tell whether her vision was blurry from the water swirling around her or the lack of oxygen reaching her brain. Heather kept flailing, desperation pushing her forward despite the strain in her body, but with every plunge beneath the water her limbs grew heavier and heavier. Her pleas were little more than sprays of water that were met with nothing but silence from her gigantic tormentor.

Darkness started to flash across her vision and Heather could no longer do anything but gag as she was thrust beneath the water's surface once more.

She tried to suck in air but only found liquid.

And then she was on her hands and knees, shaking while retching out a stream of water and bile.

A huge wall pushed against her backside and Heather stumbled out onto the tile.

“Don't puke on my bathmat,” Lex thundered above, no hint of their usual cooing sweetness.

Heather coughed out the last of the water from her lungs, her little limbs shuddering before they finally gave out and she landed in a heap beside the same water that had just been inside her body. She looked up, her tears and snot mingling with the water dripping off of her, and saw Lex standing above with their hands on their hips.

Siggy's head poked out of the pocket and the shrunken girl stared down at her with a smug look.

“Now,” the giant boomed, “Are you going to be a good girl for Emily?”

She tried to speak but only managed to cough, so she nodded.

“Good, because she's going to be home soon and she has a special gift for you,” Lex grabbed a towel from a shelf and bent down, “So let's get you cleaned up.”

Heather found herself reflexively pulling away from the powerful hands, which brought a smile to Lex's thin lips. “It's ok, sweetie,” they boomed as the fluffy white towel enveloped Heather's world, “You're not being punished anymore.”

The way the giant easily lapsed into their cutesy tones only made Heather shake harder as she was wrapped up in the vast towel. Her limbs were pressed against her body by immense hands and with a few easy folds, Heather felt the thick cotton pin her into place. As Lex simply held her in the crook of their arm, Heather gasped as it hit her that they had swaddled her like a baby.

Loud kissing noises echoed above and she cringed as Lex's fingers played against her face while they gently rocked her back and forth. She watched as the hand lifted away and scooped Siggy out of the pocket.

The tiny girl was deposited back onto the tile floor and as Lex stepped over her, they issued a command, “Clean up that mess she left.”

“Yes, Master!” Siggy's voice echoed off the tiled room but Heather couldn't see how the doll-sized girl had any hope of cleaning the water she had puked across the floor.

Lex carried her back downstairs and then sat down at her desk in the dining room that the pair had converted into some kind of office space. Heather squirmed in anticipation of being set down but instead the arm holding her simply pressed in against her body. The gentle squeeze stopped her in an instant and she stared up as Lex started to work, their face illuminated by a vast screen above, while holding them.

She listened to the tapping of keys and watched Lex bite their lip in concentration.

Every time she thought the giant was distracted enough for her to squirm out of her towel prison though, her sudden movement made Lex start to rock her or squeeze her once again. Slumping in the giant's arm, she felt anger start to bubble up within her.

Her indignant words caught in her throat though as she thought about what had just happened.

Lex had tortured her without a second thought.

They had come home from class, cooed down at Siggy, and then marched right up to punish her. And now they were cradling her like a baby while working. All of Heather's protestations and violent thrashing had done nothing to stop Lex, nor had her pleas.

They were simply too powerful.

The thought stilled her whole body.

She lay there, in the crook of Lex's arm, wondering if there was anything that she could do to oppose the pair. She doubted that she would get another chance to escape now, especially since it would be very easy for Emily or Lex to simply install sturdier locks on the windows upstairs. Worse, she didn't want to know what would happen if she was caught trying to escape again.

If bringing her to the point of drowning was the kind of torture the giants did for a first time punishment, she couldn't imagine what might happen to her a second time. She started to shake as she remembered Lex saying that they didn't want to leave a mark, and she wracked her brain trying to think if Siggy had any scars or the like.

None jumped out in her mind but she couldn't help but wonder what the girl's velvet band covered. For all Heather knew, Siggy's stomach was covered in scars and burn marks from two years worth of punishments.

A peanut suddenly being thrust in her face broke her train of thought.

She stared at the salty nut in utter confusion while huge fingers wiggled it before her.

“C'mon, you must be hungry,” Lex looked down at her and the sincerity of their smile made the little woman shudder, “You're not allergic are you?”

She shook her head and opened her mouth wide to take a bite.

It was just big enough that it was awkward for her to bite into but it crunched appreciably and in three bites she had managed to eat the whole thing. Up above, Lex tossed two or three into their mouth at a time and then every few handfuls, they lowered one down to her to munch on.

Heather had no idea when Lex had stopped working but she could now here the familiar voice of a cooking Youtuber booming out while the giant simply leaned back in their chair and relaxed. She stared up at them, barely able to comprehend how they could sit there with such ease after what they had done.

Then she listened to them grunt in relief and heard a soft squeaky voice from below, “Is that good, Master?”

“Mhm, that's great, Siggy,” Lex replied as they popped another handful of peanuts into their mouth.

The fact that Siggy had come downstairs made her realize how dry she was and therefore that a great deal of time must have passed with her swaddled in the crook of Lex's arm.

The front door opening punctuated the thought as Emily's voice rang out, “Lex, I'm home.”

“In here!”

The pair's booming voices made Heather wince in pain before she heard Emily stride into the room. The purple-haired giantess loomed above and pointed at the screen, “We can make that ya know, it wouldn't be hard...”

Lex waved her off and made an annoyed noise before they paused the video.

“Just saying,” Emily then looked down and her face immediately lit up when her dark eyes landed on Heather, “Aw, lookit you down there, Hot Mom. All cuddled up with Lex...”

She could feel her cheeks flush immediately while Lex boomed above, “Yeah, I knew that you got her that special outfit, so I made sure she was nice and clean for when you got home.”

The ease with which the lie passed from Lex's lips made Heather shudder but neither giant seemed to notice.

Emily's hands simply scooped her up, discarding the towel as she did. The room spun around for a moment while the giantess let out a cute 'wheee' like she was spinning a toddler about and then Heather stumbled on the hardwood floor below. She landed on her hands and knees before Emily's slip-ons.

Up above, the girl was already opening her messenger bag and removing a slim package. “Look what I picked up today, Hot Mom,” her voice was brimming with excitement as she ripped it open and took out a small plastic bag.

Lex's chair creaked as they spun around to watch the scene unfold and Heather saw their bare toes drum across the floor. Siggy stood in the shadow of her master's desk, a strange look on her face as Emily opened the bag and took out the bundle of clothes within.

The maid's uniform unfurled between Emily's hands and Heather's whole body burned pink.

It wasn't a real uniform by any stretch of the imagination, it was a French maid's costume complete with a poofy skirt that wouldn't even reach halfway down her thigh. Emily's dark lips were spread in a grin and there was a hungry look in her eyes as she lowered it down to Heather, bending over her enough to cast her in shadow as she did.

“Go on,” the girl boomed, “Put it on.”

She took the dress in trembling hands and realized that the fabric had enough stretch that she would be able to slip it on over her head. Heather looked back up at Emily but when she saw the girl's eyebrows knit together at her hesitation, she immediately started to pull it on out of fear that she'd earn another punishment.

The cheap stretchy fabric clung to her body except for the skirt, which seemed to flounce from her faintest movement. She couldn't bring herself to look down at it so she looked back up at Emily pleadingly.

The giantess was already clapping her hands with delight though, “Oh my God, it's too cute, you're like a little anime maid.” She then twirled her fingers over Heather's head, “Give us a spin.”

With tears welling in her eyes, Heather spun about and the skirt flew up around her waist.

Despite the fact that she had just been standing naked in front of everyone, she felt herself yelp and her cheeks flush at the thought of being exposed now.

Both giants giggled, though whether it was from the spin or her frantic attempt to push the skirt back down, Heather couldn't tell.

Emily settled down in the room's only other chair, a tall throne-like gaming chair that was black with purple trim. The giantess stretched out her leg so that her foot dangled in front of Heather's face. The girl giggled as she spoke in a haughty aristocratic tone, “Oh, little maid girl, be a dear and take these off for me. My feet are killing me!”

Lex and Emily howled with laughter as Heather reached up and awkwardly took the girl's shoe off, then her sock, and then repeated the process with the girl's other foot. “You can take those upstairs in a second,” Emily boomed, “But first go fetch me a diet coke from the fridge.”

“And one for me too,” Lex thundered.

Heather nodded and started to walk toward the kitchen when Emily's bare foot was thrust in front of her. “I think you should acknowledge when we give you an order, Hot Mom,” the girl giggled and her toes brushed against Heather's skirt.

“Y-yes, Emily...” She nodded along but the foot didn't lift from her path.

Realizing that the giantess wanted more out of her, Heather found herself speaking through gritted teeth, “Right away, Emily.”

The foot slipped away, bouncing her skirt as it went, and Heather trudged into the kitchen, certain it would be far from the most demeaning task she'd be asked to perform that night.