Hugo and Patsy Part 1 (of 8)

In a world where magic and other fantastic events take place there was the kingdom of Orion. Like the other kingdoms in this world it did have its troubles. There were wars going on all the time. And the wise King was running out of options fast. If he did not do something soon his kingdom and people would like be wiped out.
But the King had one more Ace up his sleeve. He had friends in other kingdoms who were willing to help him. But the problem was that the only way they knew how many men he needed and where to take them. Since telephones and instant communications had not been invented yet he had to do it the old fashioned way. He wrote a letter out on a fine piece of paper and he put his mark on it.
Inside his throne room he was surrounded by some of his finest soldiers. The room itself was a great gold and silver. It was big enough to fit in a house. He sat on a great throne and he was expecting his guest.
A few minutes later a scrawny man came in. He was around 6’1 with light brown hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing pea sent clothes and he was armed with a dagger in a pouch. He was only 20 years old.
He walked up to the King and bowed to him. He dipped his head in mercy and the King brought his head back up.
“You Hugo are my most trusted messenger,” said the King. He then held the scroll in his hand. “You must take this to the King of Brumlee. It is absolutely vital that you get it to him.”
“No pressure then,” replied Hugo.
“You will be rewarded greatly for this. Amongst your rewards will be a knighthood. Do you accept the task?”
“Yes your majesty.” There was no way that he could refuse the King. If he had he would have likely been executed.
“Good but unfortunately I cannot spare any of my men or horses to aid you. You must go by yourself.”
“As you wish.”
Hugo was then handed the scroll and he began to go on his way to the Brumlee. But it was to be a long journey. Brumlee was several hundred miles away and there would surely be danger along the way.
Eventually Hugo was getting into one of the many great forests of this world. It was beginning to get dark and he was going to have to set up camp somewhere. He had been given a large backpack with some supplies. This also carried a small tent for him and he began to set it up in a clear area.
But while he was setting it up he began to hear something. At first he thought he was imagining it. But when he heard the same sound again he knew that it wasn’t his imagination.
“Is someone there!” he shouted. At first there was no answer. But then he heard the sound again. It sounded like a tiny voice.
“Help me,” it said. “Please help me.”
He looked around once more and he saw the strangest sight. He saw a woman with long orange/red hair. She wore a yellow/blue one piece costume. She couldn’t see her eyes but she was quite beautiful. But the most striking thing about this woman was that she was no more then two inches tall.
She ran towards Hugo and he could see that there was a rat close behind her. He began to think a little. He knew about all the sentient species in the world. These included Humans, Elves, Dwarves and even trolls and goblins. But there was nothing about a tiny race of people.
“Help me!” she shouted.
This snapped him back into reality and he could see that the rat had almost caught her. He then went towards the rat with his dagger and he went to stab it. But he missed the thing by mere inches. But this had been enough to scare away it away and it ran back into the bushes.
Hugo felt proud of himself and he was about to go back to his tent. But then he remembered the woman and he looked down at her. She was smiling at him and he carefully picked her up. But when he was bringing to his level she was scream and she held onto his finger for dear life.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Please put me down,” she cried.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“Put me down!”
Hugo then quickly put her back on the ground and she calmed down. She even gave out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you kind sir,” she said. “Without your help that rat would have had me for dinner.”
“You have a funny way of showing your appreciation.”
“Oh I’m terrible sorry about that. I’m acrophobic.”
“You’re what?”
“Acrophobic.”
“Oh what’s that?”
“I have a fear of heights.”
“Oh that explains a lot. Anyway I’m Hugo.”
“My name is Patricia but everyone calls me Patsy.”
“Ok Patsy. It was nice meeting you but I need to get back to my tent.”
“You have a tent?”
“Yes.”
“Please can I stay with you tonight? I promise I won’t take up any room and you won’t even notice I’m there.”
“Well I don’t know.”
“Please I’ll help you as much as I can.”
“Well alright I guess you can.”
“Thank you Hugo.”

As night fell Hugo finished putting the tent up. Patsy helped as much as she could. But due to her small size there wasn’t much that she could do. She just helped pin the tent to the ground. But even this was exhausting for her.
“There we go all finished,” said Hugo.
“Great,” replied Patsy. She then began to shiver a little. “It’s getting cold now. I think its best we went inside.”
“I think you’re right.”
Hugo then unzipped the tent and stepped inside. But the step into the entrance was a little high for Patsy. But Hugo just helped her over it. He tried to keep her as low as he could due to her acrophobia.
Inside it did feel a little warmer and Hugo got his bag of supplies out. He had some bread and he gave a small piece to Patsy. She quickly ate it and she looked over to him and smiled again.
“Thank you again for helping me,” said Patsy. “Most men would have just left the rat be.”
“I couldn’t of let that thing eat you,” replied Hugo. “Besides you look too darn cute to eat.”
“Thank you.”
“Now if you don’t mind me asking. Why are you like that?”
“Like what?”
“You know tiny. Were you born that way?”
“No I was born like any normal person.”
“But how did you get small?”
“Well would you believe it I’m cursed.”
“There are no such things as curses. That’s just silly superstition.”
“Believe me curses are very real.”
“Ok then how did you get cursed?”
“Well it happened long ago before anyone human was born I was an explorer for my kingdom. I was the only one brave enough to explore lands that no one dared to go. I became a local celebrity in my kingdom. But one day my life changed forever.”
Countless years earlier a normal sized Patsy was in a new land that was full of jungles. She was going through the vines and she was even humming to herself. But eventually she came across an old temple that had been covered by vines and other vegetation. Her curiosity got the better of her and she went to take a look inside.
Once inside Patsy saw a long dark tunnel. There was a torch at the entrance and she was able to light it. She quickly went inside and looked around. Normally it would have been pitch black but thankfully the light was able to help her see things.
Eventually she came up to what seemed to be a small fountain. She couldn’t believe her eyes and she read the writing underneath it. It said that it was the fountain of youth and who ever drank from it would be granted eternal youth.
Patsy didn’t hesitate in taking a drink from it and for a moment she glowed. But then she noticed a little something at the end of the writing. It read “For a Price.”
No sooner had she read it she felt extreme pain throughout her body. She saw the world around her grow. She realised that she was getting smaller and in great pain. She screamed out in agony. She got smaller and she tried everything to stop but it wouldn’t. Within seconds she had shrunk to nothingness.

Hugo stared at Patsy in disbelief. He wasn’t sure what to say but he began to get a few ideas in his head.
“What happened?” asked Hugo.
“For about a year nothing,” replied Patsy. “I was so small that no one could see me. But there were these strange splodge things there that I had never seen before. I decided to call them germs.”
“How big were they?”
“Well to me they were the size of dogs. But they didn’t attack me. One or two of them tried but I showed them who’s boss.”
“But how did you grow? Did you have to repeat an incantation?”
“No I just grew by myself after a year until I was the size I am now. But I was still too small to leave the temple. I had to survive on whatever I could find. A year later I grew again. I was large enough to get out of the temple but not big enough to go back to civilization so I had to live in the jungle.”
“Then what happened?”
“After a year there I grew again. I was roughly half my normal size so I was able to go back to civilization. When I got there I was like the attraction of my hometown. I was the shortest woman and I kind of licked the fame. But then I grew again to my normal size. I hoped that I would stop growing.”
“Did you stop?”
“I thought I had. But one day I was just sitting in my house and I felt the pain come through my body. I knew I was going to grow again because I could feel the sheer pain.”
“I thought growing was a pleasant feeling?”
“Hell no. Changing size hurts. Imagine you’re on a rack and you’re being stretch until you’re at least twice your height. Or being squashed down. Believe me it’s not a pleasant feeling. Anyway thankfully my house was fairly big and I didn’t grow all that much. But when I stopped I was easily three times my normal height. It was scary for the locals at first. But then I found an advantage to my size. I could work as much as four people and I soon got some work around the town. My fame came back to me. But except being the smallest woman in town now I was the tallest. But again that only lasted a year.”
“You shrank again?”
“No I grew again. I was taller then the clock tower and I was too dangerous to stay there so I had to leave and live in the wilderness again. Last time I had to live like that I lived in fear because I was small and likely to get eaten. But now that I was big I didn’t have to be afraid of anything. But getting food was difficult. Just after I go used to being that size I grew even larger.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Obviously it was I was so large that the mightiest tree in the entire forest barely came up to my knee. I did have to travel around and once I even found a village. They were kind to me and in turn I protected them from dragons and other monsters. Then it happened.”
“You grew again?”
“No not this time. I shrank but a lot quicker this time. To go from super tiny to super giant took me a good seven years. To go from Super Giant to super tiny takes a week. I shrank until I was nothing again and the whole process has been repeating itself for I don’t know how long.”

“Roughly how old are you?” asked Hugo.
“I don’t know,” replied Patsy. “I have to be at least a few centuries old. But I try to time things in cycles. A full cycle takes me eight years and a week. It makes me feel younger then I actually am.”
Hugo then yawned. “Not that you’re boring me but I’m really tired and I’ve got a lot of walking to do tomorrow.”
“I better let you sleep. Thank you once again for letting me stay.”
“No problem.”
Hugo then lay down and put a blanket over himself to keep himself warm. Patsy was feeling a little chilly but thankfully she found herself a small cloth that made her feel warmer.
But several hours later while it was still dark a thud woke Patsy up. At first she was going to go back to sleep. But then she saw shadows on the outside of the tent. They seemed to be human and she could see the outline of a knife.
Patsy quickly ran to Hugo’s face and began to tap it in hopes that it would wake him up in time.
“Hugo we have guests,” said Patsy.
Hugo slowly stirred and looked at his tiny guest. “Then invite them in,” replied Hugo.
“I think they’ll do that by themselves.”
Just then a knife came through the tent ripping a hole. Hugo jolted awake and Patsy grabbed a small twig as a weapon. Although she knew that it wouldn’t really do that much good against normal people.
But a few seconds later three men began to come into the tent. They were dressed in rags and they had cuts on their arms. Hugo instantly knew what they were.
“Bandits,” said Hugo.
“Stay away from him,” replied Patsy to the bandits. Instantly one of them picked her up. She began to panic a little. “Put me down!”
“Leave her alone.”
But before Hugo could help her the other two bandits held him down. The last bandit with Patsy began to take everything of value in the tent. They even took Hugo’s bag that had the letter in.
After almost everything was taken they threw Patsy to one side. Thankfully Hugo was just able to catch her. But the thieves left in a hurry. But right now his immediate concern was the little woman in his hands.
“Are you alright?” asked Hugo. He lowered her to the ground.
“I’m shaken but otherwise fine,” replied Patsy.
“But I need to go after them.”
“Why they’ll surely kill you.”
“They have taken something that is extremely important. Now if I don’t get it back innocent people will perish.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a letter. Now I bid you farewell.”
“Wait take me with you.”
“But I’d have to carry you. And you don’t like heights.”
“I don’t care. You’re one of the few individuals who has shown me kindness in these recent years. I want to make it up to you.”

Hugo began to think a little. But he didn’t have much time. He just picked Patsy up and raised her up. He could see her getting scared but she was trying to fight her fear. He gave her a little smile.
“Ok you can come,” said Hugo.
“Thank you,” replied Patsy. “But when you carry me please put me somewhere where I can’t see the ground.”
“Sure.”
Hugo then put Patsy in his pocket and then he began to track the bandits. But it was pitch black and very cold. He couldn’t seem to find much trace of them. There weren’t any footprints or anything.
“Where did they go?” he asked himself.
“Got a tracking problem,” replied Patsy.
“Yeah.”
“I can track them if you want.”
“I just need to know the general direction. Because no offence if I followed you we’d never get there.”
“I understand.”
Hugo then got Patsy out of his pocket and he put her on the ground. She began to look for any clue of which way the bandits went. At first she was having as much luck as Hugo. Eventually she found a footprint. She could tell that it was fresh. The print was huge compared to her but she pointed it out to Hugo.
“Found something,” she said.
“Great which way does it go?” replied Hugo.
“That way.” She then pointed to a certain direction. “The tracks lead there. But this could be dangerous.”
“For how important that letter is I have to risk it.”
Hugo then immediately picked up Patsy and put her in his pocket. He began to run in the direction that patsy had pointed out. But it was still very dark and he was hitting several branches. He almost fell over a few times but he was able to keep his balance. He was also running out of breath.
He was about to rest when he suddenly began to smell something. He walked forward a little and he saw a fire. But the fire wasn’t alone. There were a couple of men around them. There were a couple of tents there as well and Hugo could recognise a couple of the men as the bandits who had robbed him earlier.
“There they are,” said Hugo.
“I can’t see,” replied Patsy.
“Will you be alright if I show you?”
“Yes.”
Hugo then took Patsy out of his pocket and he made sure that she couldn’t see the ground. She could see the camp and the men who were there. She began to come up with an idea.
“Hugo can you get me as close to the camp as you can?” she asked.
“I guess so but why?” replied Hugo.
“I have a plan.”
Patsy began to tell Hugo her plan. He didn’t think it would work but right now he couldn’t think of anything better.

A couple of minutes later the bandits were going to sleep. This was where tiny Patsy came into it. She was in a bush not too far away from them and she was watching as each one fell asleep. She was getting a little impatient. But thankfully for her she saw the last one fall asleep.
“Now to put the plan into action,” she said.
Patsy then went out of the bushes. Hugo could see her from where he was and he gave her the thumbs up. She nodded in reply to him and she ran towards the camp. For normal people it would have only been a couple of steps. But for her it was a little further so she had to run a little.
Eventually Patsy reached the camp and she began to look through the things that had been stolen. She found several things of value. These included gold, silver, diamonds and even a couple of rubies. But so far there was no sign of any envelopes. But then she noticed something.
Not only were there people here but there was also a dog. She felt a little scared. Once she had almost been eaten by a dog. She tried to stay away from it as much as she could. But then she saw an envelope with a royal mark on the back. She could tell that it was the letter that Hugo desperately needed back. The only problem was that it was right next to the dog.
“You can do this Patsy,” she said to herself. “It’s not all that difficult.” She then gulped a little. “You’ve done harder.”
She then began to creep her way towards the dog. She was careful not to make any kind of noise just in case it woke the dog up. She was pretty fast but the dog would run her down without any problem.
She eventually reached the envelope and she tried to pull it. Thankfully it wasn’t too heavy for her and she seemed to be able to pull it. But she could hear that it was making a noise while she did it.
Patsy stopped in her tracks and looked at the dog. Thankfully it hadn’t woken up and she gave out a small sigh of relief. But when she tried to pull it again she heard a loud sneeze. This woke the dog up and it stared at her.
“Oh crap.”
She then began to run with the envelope. It began to bark at her and it went to chase her. Patsy was terrified and her heart was pounding in her chest. She thought that this would be the end for her.
But almost as soon as the dog reached her it was pulled back. It had been chained to a post and the chain had reached its full length. The dog had to stop but by now a few of the bandits had woken up.
Patsy went into the closest bush and she tried to stay out of sight. A few of the bandits went over to the dog.
“Shut up you stupid mutt,” said one of the bandits.
“Must have seen a rabbit,” replied another bandit.
“Make sure he goes back to sleep.”
“Ok.”
Patsy had dodged a bullet but now she had to go back to Hugo. She was a little out of breath but when it was safe she began to walk again. She seemed happy with her accomplishment. It reminded her of the days before she drank out of the fountain of youth.

Patsy came out of the bush when the coast was clear. But the problem was that she wasn’t watching where she was going. She didn’t notice what was a fairly small hole to normal humans. But to her it was quite large. In the darkness of night she couldn’t see the hole and she fell down it.
Although she had a good fall of four inches she wasn’t seriously injured. But now her problems had only began. The letter was still above the hole and she was too small to get out by herself. She couldn’t shout for help in case she brought any unwanted attention to herself.
“Another fine mess I’ve gotten myself into,” she said.
She tried to climb up the wall but she kept sliding back down. She gave it a few attempts before giving up. She was still tired from getting the letter. She was just a little too small to get out.
“If only I was a little bigger.”
In his hiding place Hugo was getting a little worried about his tiny friend. He had seen what had happened in the camp and now worried about her health. He tried to get a little closer to where he had last seen her before going into the bushes. He constantly looked on the ground in case he saw Patsy.
“Patsy,” he whispered. “Patsy.”
At first there was no answer. But inside her hole Patsy was beginning to hear him. She didn’t think it was anything at first. But when she heard it again she soon realised that it was Hugo calling for her.
“Hugo I’m down here,” said Patsy.
“Where I can’t see you,” replied Hugo.
“I’m in a hole.”
Hugo continued to look on the ground and he eventually found the envelope. But he could also see the hole that Patsy was stuck in. He picked up the envelope and put it in his pocket.
“Are you alright?” asked Hugo.
“Nothing serious,” replied Patsy. “But I can’t get out.”
“Hear that?” asked a Voice.
Hugo quickly looked around. He could see someone moving in the camp. He began to panic a little. He couldn’t risk getting caught and losing the royal letter once again. His first reaction would have been to run. But he couldn’t simple leave Patsy where she was. She would probably die.
“Ok I’m going to pick you up now,” said Hugo. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” replied Patsy.”
“Good.”
With that Hugo picked Patsy out of the hole and she began to move away from the camp. Patsy was a little nervous since Hugo hadn’t put her away and she could see everything around her. This also included the ground below her. She held onto his finger to what seemed to be dear life.
“Hugo you don’t mind if you…” said Patsy.
“Oh sorry,” replied Hugo.
He then put her in his other pocket and she felt a lot better. She couldn’t see anything outside. She was glad to be here because heights still really bugged her no matter how hard she fought against it.

Hugo began to move away from the camp. For obvious reasons he didn’t want to get anywhere near them. Not only did he have to worry about getting the letter to the King but also to protect Patsy. Although he had only recently met her he still didn’t want to see her get hurt.
After roughly a mile of walking Hugo was beginning to feel tired once more. But this time before he went to lie down he made sure he was somewhere where he was hidden. He didn’t want to be found any time soon. But he also had to get Patsy out of his pocket and put her on the ground.
“Ok now we really need to get back to sleep,” said Hugo.
“Right now I don’t feel all that tired,” replied Patsy.
“I could sleep forever.”
Patsy then yawned a little. “Actually some shut eye would be nice.”
Hugo then went under a bush and he was out of sight. He felt safe here and he knew that he was out of sight. He could feel Patsy lying next to him to keep warm. There was a little breeze so he did feel a little chilly.
“Good night I guess,” said Patsy.
“Night Patsy.”
They both then slowly went to sleep. This time however nothing was going to disturb them. A meteor could hit the planet and they wouldn’t notice a thing. This was just what they wanted.
Eventually the night gave way to day and the cockerels were making their morning rounds. Patsy was the first to wake up and she stretched her tiny body. She looked up at the blue sky.
“It’s a beautiful day,” she said to herself. “Now let’s see if there’s anything I can have for breakfast.”
She then began to slowly walk away from Hugo. Thankfully not too far away was an apple tree and there seemed to a fresh apple on the ground. She rubbed her hands in glee before take a bite out of it. It was very delicious but then she heard something rattling in a bush.
Patsy felt a little scared so she began to move back towards Hugo. She knew that he would protect her from almost anything. But when she full went back she saw what seemed to be a big cat. Patsy had seen one like it but definitely not here. She had seen them on the other side of the world. One more thing she knew that they were very dangerous. Even to normal people.
When patsy got back to Hugo she began to tap his face in hopes that it would wake him up. Thankfully he began to stir a little.
“W-What is it?” asked Hugo.
“We need to go now,” replied Patsy.
“What why?”
“I’ll explain later. But for now we really need to go.”
“Fine.”
Hugo then slowly got up and he began to move away a little. Patsy wanted him to hurry up because she could hear the big cat. She allowed Hugo to pick her up and he began to walk away a little.
“Faster,” said Patsy.
“Why?”

“Just do it,” said Patsy.
“Whatever,” replied Hugo.
He then began to pick the pace up a little. Patsy was constantly looking out for any sign of the big cat. She could still hear it. But Hugo couldn’t hear a thing. He still didn’t know why his tiny friend wanted to get away so quickly. He quickly stopped and looked at Patsy. She was panicking a little and it wasn’t about the heights.
“I’m not walking a single step until you tell me what’s happening,” said Hugo. His voice was very stern.
“You have to keep going or else we’ll both be killed,” replied Patsy. “We’re being followed.”
“By what?”
Just then the big cat came out of the bushes. It was almost ready to pounce on the pair. Patsy gulped a little.
“That,” she said.
The Big Cat then pounced on Hugo. This caused him to accidentally drop Patsy. She fell for what seemed to be over 100 feet. But thankfully she landed on some soft leaves that broke her fall.
But Hugo was still being attacked. He was struggling as best as he could. But the cat was trying to bite him. Patsy couldn’t stand there and watch him get killed. She picked up a pebble that was right next to her and she threw it at the cat. It hit it in the head and it got the Cat’s attention.
“Leave him alone,” demanded Patsy.
The Cat then moved off Hugo and looked towards Patsy. It began to walk a little closer to her and she began to feel nervous. But she just picked up another pebble and threw it at it. But they weren’t doing much damage to the cat. She was beginning to run out of options.
“If only I was bigger,” she thought.
But before the Cat could attack Hugo was able to get up. He kicked the cat in the ribs and it went flying. When it landed on the ground it saw that it couldn’t win so it turned around and ran.
Hugo’s first concern was the welfare of his tiny friend. He could see that she was greatly shaken.
“Patsy are you alright?” he asked.
“I’m scared out of my wits,” replied Patsy. “But other then that I’m fine.” She then sighed. “That was a close one.”
“Well you saved me.”
“You saved me as well so I guess we’re equal.”
Hugo then picked her up.
“This isn’t uncomfortable for you right?” asked Hugo.
“A little,” replied Patsy.
“Do you want me to put you down?”
“No this is alright.”
“Well thank you.”
“Just remind me of one thing later.”
“What’s that?”
“Since you’ve protected me while I’ve been small. When I’m big I’ll protect you.”

“After seeing you like this it’ll be weird seeing you big,” said Hugo.
“Well it’ll come faster then you think,” replied Patsy.
But then pair weren’t aware that they were being watched. From one of the trees they were being spied on by an enemy. He was one of the soldiers of the army that Hugo’s country was fighting against. He got a crystal ball out of his pocket and he looked at it. A face that was not his own then appeared.
“I have sighted the messenger,” said the Spy.
“Good,” replied the Crystal Ball.
“Do you want me to kill him now?”
“No bring him in for questioning. We can find out a lot of information about the enemy from him.”
“As you command.”
“Dare not fail me.”
The spy then silently climbed down from the tree and he slowly began to follow Hugo. He didn’t realise that Patsy was with him. All the spy knew what that he needed to take Hugo in alive.
Although it didn’t seem like the spy was making any progress he was moving a little faster. It would take him a while but he would eventually catch up with him. But if he moved any faster then he would surely be spotted.
Hugo and Patsy were completely oblivious to their intruder. Hugo just kept walking on and Patsy just sat there. She liked to see the beauty of nature around her. But she didn’t want to look at the ground.
After a few minutes they reached a river. Hugo was about to fill up his water bottle. But then he felt something blunt hit the back of his head. It knocked him unconscious and Patsy saw the spy. She quickly hid before she was spotted by him.
The spy got the crystal ball back out of his pocket and the face appeared on it once more.
“I have captured the messenger my lord,” said the Spy.
“Excellent,” replied the Face. “You have served me well.”
“Where do you want me to take him?”
“Wait there someone will be with you shortly.”
“As you command.”
Patsy was watching them. But at her size she couldn’t do anything to help Hugo. But she came up with an idea. She ran towards her fallen friend and she climbed into his pocket. She kept her head down.
Eventually another soldier with a horse and carriage came. The spy put Hugo’s unconscious body into the carriage and they rode away. Patsy stayed in the pocket. She hoped that things weren’t going to as bad as they seemed. She even tried to wake Hugo up.
“Wake up,” she said. But there was no response. “Come on lazy bones you have to get up.”
But it was still useless. Patsy would just have to wait until Hugo woke himself up. It was times like these that she wished that she wasn’t so small. But she had to do the best she could.
But after an hour in the carriage it stopped. Hugo was stirring a little and Patsy went back into hiding.

Patsy heard the doors of the carriage open up. Two men then grabbed Hugo and dragged him out. He was still knocked out. But they didn’t care much about his welfare. They just needed to take him away.
When Hugo woke up he was strapped down to a chair and he was in some kind of strange cell. At first he was in darkness. But as his vision returned he began to see things around him. This included several men.
“He’s waking up,” said One Man.
“OH good,” replied another.
“W-where am I?”
“That’s not your concern. Now we just want to ask you a few questions. I hope you don’t answer them at first. I want some fun.”
“W-what do you want?”
“Just some information. Tell me what your king is planning.”
“No.”
“Oh good.” He then looked towards one of the other men. “Show him what happens when he doesn’t answer.”
The other man walked up to Hugo. He had a dagger with him and he put it straight into Hugo’s hand. He screamed out in pain and shock. The others just laughed a little. But Hugo was still in agony.
“Tell me,” said the Man.
“No,” replied Hugo.
He then turned the dagger cutting more of Hugo’s hand. The pain was almost unbearable for him.
“Do I really need to ask you again?”
“Yes you do. Because if you think I’m going to betray my King then you’ve got another thing coming.”
“So unwise.”
But before he could carry on the torture someone else came into the cell. He was wearing better clothes the others. But he seemed to be here for a very important reason. Unlike the others he also wore gold rings.
“The master needs to see you all,” he said.
“We’re a little busy right now,” replied the Torturer.
“You must leave immediately.”
“Fine.”
They then left the cell. But as they walked away they were talking amongst one another. They weren’t sure what they were going to do with Hugo.
“What about him?” asked one of the Men.
“Don’t worry he’s not going anywhere,” replied the Torturer.
But now that Hugo was alone Patsy could safely come out of hiding. She popped out of his pocket. Hugo quickly saw him.
“P-Patsy?” he asked.
“It’s alright,” replied Patsy.
She then went to his hand and with great difficulty pushed the dagger from his hand. It caused him great pain but at least it was out. She then began to release him his hands from the straps.
“Thank you,” said Hugo.

Hugo went to get out of the chair. But he just collapsed onto the ground. Thankfully Patsy was still on the chair so she didn’t go down with him. If she had done she would have been crushed.
“Hugo!” she cried.
“Don’t worry I’m alright,” replied Hugo. “Just need to get back up to my feet.” He then slowly got up. But he was still in pain.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Unfortunately no. If you were normal size or bigger you could have helped me.” He was still staggering.”
“Talk to me in a few years and it’ll be a completely different story. Bu if any of us are going to last that long we’ve got to get out of here.”
“Oh right.”
Hugo then picked Patsy up and he went to walk out. But right now he couldn’t walk in a straight line. He seemed to be all over the place. All Patsy could do was try and point him in the right direction. But she could hear someone coming. He didn’t seem to be too far away from where they were.
“Hugo someone’s coming,” said Patsy.
“What?” replied Hugo.
“Hide.”
Hugo more or less dived for cover. It only took seconds for the guard to get to where they were. But thankfully Hugo was out of sight. He couldn’t be seen and for now he was safe.
When the guard went past Hugo was able to get himself up. He was still dazed but he seemed to be getting better. He even checked his pockets and he was thankful to find the letter.
“Great its still here,” said Hugo.
“Great but we still need to get out,” replied Patsy. “I think I remember the way out from here.”
“What how?”
“Unlike you I was actually conscious when they took us down here. I just hope my memory’s as good as ever.”
Patsy then began to lead Hugo in the right direction to the exit. But unfortunately on they way they bumped into the men who had tortured Hugo and they certainly wasn’t happy to see him loose.
“What now?” asked Hugo.
“Running would be a good idea,” replied Patsy.
Hugo then began to run away from his torturers. They instantly gave chase and while they ran others seemed to join in. It didn’t look too good for Hugo and Patsy. They were running out of options.
“Anymore bright ideas,” said Hugo.
“Just one,” replied Patsy. “Turn right here.”
“What just do it?”
Hugo then turned right and they were followed.
“Now what?”
“Jump!”
Hugo then jumped over some of the floor.

Hugo kept on running and for now he couldn’t see the point of that little jump. But then behind him he could hear men screaming as if they were falling. He looked and saw that his chasers were gone. The hole in the ground was the obvious cause for their disappearance. But the odd thing for Hugo was that it was on the exact spot he had jumped over. He looked at Patsy.
“How did you know?” asked Hugo.
“I’ve been in here before,” replied Patsy.
“When?”
“About eighty years ago. They’ve changed the place a little since I was last here. But the traps are still the same.”
“What?” he then began to remember. “Oh yeah that whole fountain of youth fiasco. Silly me.”
“There are still a couple of traps ahead.”
“So you can help me get past them?”
“Only the ones that were here the last time I was here. If there are any new ones then you’re in trouble.”
He continued to run down the corridors. But by now everyone in the castle was after him. Hugo had to hope and prayer that he didn’t run into anyone. If he did he’d have a very hard time getting past them.
Patsy was helping him as best as he could. But several things had indeed changed since the last time she was there. There were many new rooms and hallways that she had never been through.
But they eventually came up to a door. Hugo went to open it but it was locked and it seemed too strong to break down.
“I can’t break it,” he said.
“Let me have a go,” replied Patsy.
“You can’t break it.”
“I didn’t say anything about breaking it open.”
“Then what are you planning on doing?”
“Just put me next to the keyhole.”
Hugo then raised her to the keyhole and she crawled inside. It was a tight squeeze for her even at her tiny size. But she began to pick the lock from the inside. Moments later the door was unlocked and she climbed out. She felt happy with her achievement and she looked at Hugo.
“Even being tiny has its advantages,” she said.
“And now I guess we’re home free,” replied Hugo.
“Let’s hope.”
Hugo then opened the door and he could see the outside. It was night time so it was a little hard for him to see everything. But he just ran out and hoped that he would get away.
But then he was fired at by archers on top of the building. They could see him and they were only just missing him. He began to run as fast as he could. But he wasn’t running in a straight line. This was so that he was a harder target for archers. But some were coming very close.
“Run!” shouted Patsy.
“That’s what I am doing,” replied Hugo.

Hugo continued to run and the archers also continued to fire their arrows at him. Although none of them were hitting him some of them got very close. One just missed going into his head.
But another went straight through his arm. He gave out a cry of pain but all he could do for now was continue to run. He was bleeding quite badly but if he stopped now he would be an easy target.
Eventually he went out of the range of the archers and he almost collapsed on the ground. Patsy began to inspect the damage to his arm. Thankfully it didn’t seem to look too bad.
“Can you get it out?” asked Hugo.
“I’m too small to do that,” replied Patsy.
“Then what do I do?”
“Go to a healer.”
“Where can I find one of those?”
“If memory serves there should be one not too far away from here. They helped me once a while back.”
“No offence but wouldn’t they be dead by now?”
“Healing is a family business. By now the children or the grandchildren have taken over the family profession.”
“Ok where are they?”
About a mile or two North.”
“Great more walking.”
“If I was a giant I would have been more then happy to do the walking for you. But since I’m like this it would take me way too long.”
“Fine.”
Hugo then walked towards where Patsy had told him the Healers were. She was a little scared of being high up. But the last thing she could do right now was have a panic attack. It would make things even worse then they already were. She just hoped that Hugo wasn’t too badly hurt.
Eventually after half an hour of walking/ running they eventually came up to a small hut. It seemed pretty old and Hugo doubted that no one lived there. But Patsy was able to convince him to knock on the door. He was a little unsure whether anyone would really answer.
But seconds after he knocked the door a little old woman answered. He was surprised to see anyone there. She instantly saw the arrow in his arm and she sae that he was just about to collapse.
“Come inside,” said the Old Woman.
Hugo staggered inside the house and collapsed on the bed. Thankfully patsy landed on the bed and so she didn’t get hurt. The old woman looked at Patsy and she was surprised to see her.
“I know you,” said the Old Woman. “You came here several decades ago. Funny I’m sure you were a lot taller.”
“I’m continually changing,” replied Patsy. “But can you help my friend. He’s badly injured.”
“I shall see what I can do.”
“Thank you.”

Hugo was then laid down on a bed and the old woman began to get some herbs out. All Patsy could do was sit down on a table and wait to see if he would be aright. She felt completely powerless to help him.
Hugo was very close to death. A few times he almost died but the old woman was able to bring him back. But each time this happened it made Patsy very worried. She didn’t want to lose her friend.
But eventually after a few hours it was the dead of night and Patsy just stood there looking over Hugo from the table. He didn’t seem to be moving and she looked towards the old woman.
“Is he going to be alright?” asked Patsy.
“He’ll be fine so don’t worry your pretty little head,” replied the Old Woman. “He just needs to have his rest.”
“That’s good. Thank you very much. You’ve saved his life.”
“Well you saved mine when I was a little girl. When you were a little bigger.”
“Try when I was a lot bigger. I think I was at stage 7 at the time. Maybe going onto stage 8.”
“What stage are you now?”
“Stage 2.” She then yawned a little. “It’s getting late. You don’t happen to have anything soft I can lie on?”
“I should have something that just might do.”
The Old Woman then went away and she came back a minute later with a dry sponge and a small cloth. She put it onto the table and Hugo lay on top of the sponge and covered herself cloth.
“Thank you,” said Patsy.
“You’re very welcome,” replied the old Woman. “Now you just get your rest. You’re probably going to need it.”
“Ok.”
Patsy lay there and she quickly went to sleep. She was very comfortable and it and she felt a little easier knowing that Hugo was going to be fine. She didn’t know what she would do if he got killed.
She woke up bright and early the next morning and she stretched herself. As she got off the sponge she saw Hugo moving about and she quickly went as close as she could to him.
“Hugo,” she said. Hugo stirred a little. “Hugo.” He still stirred but this time it was a little more. “Hey wake up!”
Hugo then slowly woke up and looked towards his tiny friend. He gave out a yawn and he also stretched.
“It’s a beautiful morning,” he said.
“Are you alright?” replied Patsy.
“Yeah I feel fine.”
“Good I was afraid that you were going to die or something.”
“No it’ll take more then that to kill me.”
“I hope so.”
Patsy then smiled a little at Hugo. He picked her up quickly and he got out of the bed. He was happy that Patsy had been concerned over him. Unlike others it showed that she actually cared about him.

Hugo then went to get out of bed. But when he went and stood back up he felt a lot of pain in his legs and he quickly sat back down. Patsy was quickly concerned about him and she looked at his leg.
“What’s wrong?” asked Patsy.
“I’m still in pain,” replied Hugo.
“Hopefully you’ll recover soon.”
“But I can’t stay here. If I don’t get the message to the other kingdom my people will be slaughtered.”
“Well maybe there’s someway I can help.”
“I doubt that you can help me this time.”
“You’ll be surprised.”
She then climbed down from his hand and onto Hugo’s leg. This caused him some pain but she then began to rub his leg. It did make it feel better. But it was going to take her a while to do an entire leg.
“You don’t have to do that Patsy,” said Hugo.
“Yes I do,” replied Patsy. “If you want to get out there again then I’m going to have to keep rubbing until you feel better.”
“But that’ll take forever.”
“Well it’s a lot faster then just letting your body heal naturally.”
Patsy continued to rub his leg. She was hoping that it would heal over very soon. But she had to admit that it was going to take a while. This was one of the times that she wished that she was bigger.
Eventually the old woman came back into the room and she saw what Patsy was doing. She shook her head a little.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Helping the healing process,” replied Patsy.
“I’m afraid that won’t work.”
“I’m sorry but we’re in a bit of a hurry.”
“Then there’s only one thing you can do.”
“What’s that?”
A few minutes later Hugo was sitting on top of a horse. His leg had been bandaged up. Patsy was also sitting on the saddle and she was strapped on so that she wouldn’t fall off any time soon.
The old woman was standing by the door of her small hut and she looked towards them. Hugo was still in some pain but he was able to bear it.
“Are you sure we can just take this?” asked Hugo.
“Sure I’ll just get another one,” replied the Old Woman.
“Well thanks for everything.”
“You’re welcome. Have a safe trip.”
“Will do.”
The horse then began to walk away. Hugo and Patsy then began to wave at the old woman in thanks for what she had done for them. But they still had danger ahead of them.

As the horse walked on Hugo could still feel some pain in his sides. But for now there wasn’t much he could do about it. They were just riding on. But he was also in a hurry. He didn’t have much time to get the message to the king of the next kingdom. If he did not then Hugo’s own Kingdom could be successfully invaded.
“I wonder how much further it is,” said Patsy.
“Hopefully not too far,” replied Hugo. “I can’t afford anymore delays. They could be catastrophic.”
“As I’ve told you many times if I was bigger I would help you in whatever you need. I’ve taken a few armies in my time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah one or two almost killed me but I was able to get away.”
“I thought you said that you were immortal.”
“I have eternal youth. I can’t die of old age but I can still die of other things. Just like everyone else.”
“So if you were shot with an arrow you’d die?”
“If I was small enough yes.”
“That I didn’t know.”
Eventually the pair came up to a river. But there was no visible bridge. They had two options to take. One they could walk up/down river until they found a bridge. Or they could go through the river itself. This was risky but it was a lot faster then finding a bridge.
“Are you in tight?” asked Hugo.
“Yeah,” replied Patsy.
“Hold on.”
Hugo then wiped the horse a little and it began to go forward into the river. It was slow at first but when the horse actually got into the river it stopped for a moment. Hugo had to hit it a few more times before it finally began to walk through the river.
Unfortunately for everyone the current was strong and the water was quite deep. But the horse kept going. But the water level was getting too high for little Patsy and Hugo had to untie her and put her on the horse’s head. For now it was the safest place Patsy could be on the horse.
But as the horse walked on it continued to get deeper and deeper. The horse itself was having a lot of difficulties. But it still walked on through the water. But there was surely not much energy left in it.
“Come on old girl,” said Hugo.
“Hey,” replied Patsy.
“I was talking to the horse.”
“Oh.”
Thankfully for everyone the horse seemed to be stepping into shallower waters. It wasn’t being pushed away as hard as it was and things seemed to be going better for them.
But then the horse looked up and saw a bear not too far away. The horse itself then began to panic and it jumped up as much as it could. This caused Patsy to fall off the head and into the water.
“Hugo!” screamed Patsy.
“Patsy!” replied Hugo.

Patsy went under the water and she struggled to get back up. But the sheer force of the water was pulling her away from Hugo. But no matter how hard she struggled she wasn’t getting any closer to him. She was getting further and further away from him with each passing second.
“Help me!” she cried.
“Patsy!” replied Hugo.
But when he went into the water Patsy was moving away from him faster and faster. He had to make sure that the letter dry. If it got wet then the writing would fade and make it impossible to read.
But it was too late for Patsy. She was already too far away from Hugo. The river was taking her further away and not even Hugo could go after her. After he lost sight of her he got back onto the horse.
Now Hugo had one of two options. He could ride downstream and try and find his tiny friend and waste what little time he had left. Or he could keep going on his journey and hope that she would be alright. He would get the letter to the King and hopefully save his kingdom.
“I’m sorry Patsy,” he said.
He then rode the horse out of the river and to he looked upstream briefly. He shuddered a little and he rode away. His soul was tearing apart inside. He didn’t want to leave Patsy to a watery grave. But he couldn’t lose anymore time or else his own kingdom would surely be conquered and his people enslaved. In his mind the lives of his people outweighed the life of Patsy.
As Hugo rode on he could still hear Patsy’s cries of help in his mind. It was still upsetting for him. But he tried to think of the journey ahead. He didn’t have that long to go.
It took only half a day for Hugo to reach the palace. At first he was refused entry to the palace but when he showed them his King’s mark on the letter he was allowed entry to their king.
Once again Hugo found himself in a great hall and he could see the King sitting on his thrown. He was surprised to see Hugo.
“A messenger,” said the King. “That is a surprise. Please bring forward your message my lad.”
“As you command your highness,” replied Hugo. He then took the letter to the King. He opened it and began to read it. He was surprised with what he was reading. He then looked at Hugo.
“Is this true?”
“It is your highness.”
“Then your kingdom will have all the help it needs.”
“Thank you your highness.”
“Now rest you deserve it.”
Hugo felt happy that the King was going to help his kingdom. But he still felt sad for patsy. He could only hope that she somehow survived. But he thought that he would never see her again.

The End.