“I don’t back down!” Hector’s axe made impact with his massive foe, signalling for the rest of the army to move in. Dozens of fighters swarmed the Rokkr, dealing fatal damage. Its spectral form faded, leaving only its lance behind.
“The Order of Heroes have done it once again…” Loki commented, watching from a distance. “They’ve taken down so many of my Rokkr. I don’t know why I bother with them…”
She sighed when she saw the heroes gather, ready to head back home.
“The tempests don’t seem to be troubling them much either lately. And I’ve been throwing so many at them lately, too…” She lamented. “At this rate, they’ll forget all about little old me. Unless…”
She smirked, remembering a scheme she had been cooking up. “Well, it’s only half ready, but I suppose I can roll it out now. Let’s see how they handle this!”
“Another beautiful day!” Sharena cheered, peering out through the archway. She was up early once again, her abundant enthusiasm keeping her from lounging around in bed. “I wonder what heroes I’ll meet today?”
She strolled into the entrance hall. She loved seeing it filled with heroes, at it so often was these days. The summoner, Kiran, had been very busy of late. However, she was currently the only one around, the others still in bed or off training.
“Hey, I’ll check the noticeboard!” She said to herself. “Then I’ll tell Kiran all of today’s news!”
Before she could approach the board, she heard a hoot from behind. She turned to see Feh flying in, the messenger owl heading towards its perch.
“Good morning, Feh!” She greeted the owl enthusiastically. “Have you brought more orbs for our summoner?”
The owl hooted happily, answering the princess in the affirmative.
“Hooray! Let’s see, let’s see!” She chased Feh over to its perch. It released a small package from its talons, letting the box drop to the floor.
“Hey, what’s this?” Sharena wondered, forgoing the orbs to examine the mystery box. Although Feh brought many mysterious objects to the castle, she had never seen a box like this before.
It seems a bit suspicious… Sharena thought. I wonder what’s inside?
Unable to contain her curiosity, she tore open the box. The object inside looked a lot like an orb, but it had a strange purple coloration.
“Whoa! Is this a new kind of orb?” She wondered aloud. It appeared to be made of glass, like a normal orb, with something sparkling inside. She couldn’t resist the temptation to inspect it further, her hand reaching for it before she was even aware of what she was doing…
“Ouch!”
Sharena cried out. Even though she was wearing gloves, she got a little shock when she touched the strange orb. She retracted her hand instinctively, flinching from the sharp pain. Cradling her hand, she stood back up. However, the pain was short lived, like she had just touched a spiky plant.
“Huh. How strange…” She said to herself. She shook her hand. The pain had already subsided, but she noticed something strange. The fingers of her glove flopped around, like it was too large for her.
I’ve been wearing these for ages, and they were fine when I put them on. She thought. Did I stretch the fingers or something?
Deciding to ask one of the heroes to fix her glove, she thought no more of it. She looked up to be greeted with the sight of Feh.
“Oh! Feh!” She stepped back when she nearly got a faceful of owl. “You’re so high up!”
She briefly wondered if the bird was resting somewhere other than its usual perch, but she could see that it was sitting on the same wooden structure as always.
That’s weird. Was it always that tall?
She was sure it wasn’t, having stopped by many times to spend time with Feh. As she stared at the fluffy owl in confusion, she noticed a strange sinking feeling.
“Eh? What’s… Going on?” She wondered aloud as the owl rose higher over her head. She was distracted by something moving on her shoulder. Looking to her left, she saw her pauldron slipping.
“Oh!” She quickly grabbed it, holding it in place. Before she could question why it was slipping down her arm, her cape crept into her vision, rising to block her view.
“N-no!” She cried out, beyond confused at this strange turn of events. “Help! Someone help me!”
She felt her glove slip off as her vision receded further downward. She tried to turn but tripped on her own boot, causing her to fall to the floor face-first.
She groaned but had too much energy to stay down for long. She pushed herself up as something billowed down over her, enveloping her body.
“What is this?” Her voice was muffled by the strange tent. She tried to move her arm, to fight against the descending veil of cloth, but met resistance. Annoyed, she pulled her arm free. To her shock, it was completely bare.
“My clothes! Where did they go?” She shouted, blushing.
No, never mind that. I need to get out of here!
There was light ahead, coming from a cave-like opening. Not wanting to remain in the strange tent any longer, Sharena scurried for the exit.
The princess of Askr escaped the cave, landing on a thick carpet. A warm wind blew over her from behind as the cave collapsed.
What was that place? Was I teleported somehow? Why am I naked? More importantly, where am I? Her mind swam with questions.
When she looked up, she gasped. She saw the interior of the castle, exactly where she had been stood mere moments ago, only gigantic. The banners, the noticeboard, it was identical.
“Is this… An alternate Askr?” She wondered aloud. “Whoa, a giant Feh!”
On a perch dozens of feet in the air sat a huge, white owl. Other than its scale, it matched the owl she knew in every way.
“This is so strange…” She looked down to see that the ground was crumpled, blankets of various colours laid out on the floor.
“What’s this?” She stood to investigate further, only to stop when she saw two tunnels in the distance. The white and gold colour was familiar somehow, as was everything else covering the floor.
“These are my boots!” She realized. “And this is my cape! But it’s so big!”
Why would my empty clothes be here in this big Askr? She wondered. Unless…
“I’m tiny!” She gasped. She was in exactly the same place, only a foot tall. And, judging from how the floor shifted ever closer, still getting smaller.
“H-help! Help me!” She shouted, jumping for attention. “Alfonse, Anna, anyone!”
There was no answer. She was alone in this giant hallway, right when she needed aid the most.
“N-no… This can’t…” She had met heroes from many different realms, but none of them had told her anything about shrinking magic before. She felt lost, unable to do anything as she shrank yet smaller.
Wait, that orb! Could it have done this to me?
She ran for the box. However, by the time she got there, she was too small to reach the top of the cardboard wall.
“No!” She cried out in frustration, jumping for the edge. She tried to open a hole in the side, but her strength had dwindled along with her size. She tried jumping for the wall again, but each time she reached lower and lower.
“Agh!” She yelled, kicking the box with her bare foot. Feeling utterly defeated, she slumped down. At least she seemed to be getting no smaller, but she couldn’t be more than an inch tall.
“What do I do now?” Sharena asked the air. Her morning hadn’t exactly gone as planned. A strange magic orb had shrunk her! At least, that was what she thought had happened. Was it all someone’s scheme?
I need to get help. She decided. Getting anywhere at her current size was a big ask, but she wasn’t going to sit and mope. Thinking she should get herself dressed in something first, she headed back towards her clothes. She hoped someone would be able to find her and help her out…
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