This choice: Anna lands atop the bedside table • Go Back...Chapter #15A lucky bounce by: Arnsley   Fortune smiled upon Anna, right when she needed it the most. Though, upon experiencing a painful landing, she certainly didn’t think herself lucky straight away. Her minute form landed right on top of the bedside table, exactly where she needed to be. However, the wood was far from comfortable.
“Ouch!” Anna screamed upon landing. Looking up barely in time to avoid landing face-first, her front took the brunt of the fall. Her little legs slumped down behind her, the mini merchant remaining still for a few moments.
“I’m going to feel that one in the morning,” she groaned, slowly pushing herself up off the wooden ground. She briefly feared she had landed on the floor, but she was quick to realize she was considerably higher than that.
“Wait a minute… this is the bedside table, right? Did I just hit the jackpot?”
Her first stroke of luck, in what had been a trying day. Anna was very glad to be here, though still too sore to shout with joy.
“All right, I made it. Now all I have to do is wait…”
In the time that followed, Anna got up and moved around. She tried to think about where the bangle would be placed, to best position herself to scurry inside. The middle seemed like the best spot, but she worried it would be placed down on top of her. So she waited off to the side, away from the bed the bangle-wearing man had claimed as his own.
“Weird to think that chamber was a bangle,” Anna mused, “not as weird as me becoming the size of a flea, I have to admit…”
Then she heard them. Deep, thudding, approaching footsteps. Even though she had been waiting for them, Anna felt a bit afraid. These titans were so much bigger than her. Incredibly dangerous, even if they didn’t know she was there. Just remembering the sight of them was enough to cause her to shiver in fear.
The door opened. A current of air blasted in, overwhelming to the tiny woman. The three men swaggered in, and she could already smell their meal.
“What a great feast!” one of them laughed, proudly patting his fat belly.
“I won’t need to eat for days after that!” his friend said.
“A substantial meal. I hope to enjoy more like it,” the other man said.
“We will, no doubt about that,” the first man said, shutting the door, “we’ll get a right good rest, and be out of here in the morning.”
One of them men jumped onto the far bed, generating another current of air that Anna could barely withstand.
“Ahh… best bed I’ve ever been in,” he sighed.
“Don’t get too comfortable. We need to rise early,” his friend reminded him.
“That’s right! Got to get out of here before they collect the tab. Then we’ll find a buyer for this beauty!”
There it was, the bangle she sought. The man brandished his arm, unaware of the tiny thief hiding right beside his bed.
“That’s where I need to be,” Anna said, craning her neck all the way up to stare at it. It was so far away, but not for long. The man approached the bedside table, moving to take it off.
“…maybe we should keep it,” he suggested, “this thing unlocks doors!”
“How’s it do that?” his friend asked, “weirdest lookin’ lockpick, I’ll tell you now.”
“Not literally! It’s proof we’ve got gold, is what I mean,” he clarified, “show people this, and they’ll let you in anywhere.”
“It’s distinctive. Use it often enough, and people will follow us,” the third man pointed out, “if we don’t pay, they’ll catch up to us eventually.”
“…all right, fine. We’ll sell it.”
He slipped the bangle off his arm. It was placed down gently, but to the miniature Anna its landing felt like an earthquake.
“That’s it! Right there!” when the ground stopped shaking, she was able to see the entrance. Not too far from where she stood, another stroke of luck. She got going while fortune was in her favor.
“Goodnight, lads. Don’t sleep too tight!”
The candles were extinguished, but Anna could still see. She hurried towards the bangle but did not rush. She had at least a few hours before the men woke, and possibly moved the treasure. Time enough for her to get in there and do what she needed to do.
That said, it was a rather long journey. Once she had made it to the side of the immense metal structure, she needed to climb it too. That took time but was not too difficult for a merchant as nimble as her. She was glad her battles for Ylisse had caused her to build up no small amount of resilience and stamina.
Eventually, Anna pulled herself up the last ledge, and made it to where it all began. Well, sort of. The chamber was on its side, so she was standing on one of the walls.
“This is it…” she panted, stopping for breath. In the gloom, she could just about see the pedestal, projecting out of the wall to the side. She lacked the energy to check, but hoped she was able to reach it now. Last time, she had shrunk to half her height, rendering her unable to reach. She had thought herself short then, but she soon lost most of the rest of her height. Now even her half-shrunken self would be a gigantic titan to her.
“I’ve got to get my height back…” Anna rummaged in her pocket. She held the key. That small, green gemstone. It looked very tempting in the light, brilliant even. In fact, she was pretty sure it was more valuable than the bangle itself, even if it had gems encrusted in it.
“I could make a lot of money with this… maybe I should keep it?”
Not something a sane person would entertain. But when Anna smelt gold, there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do. Could she really keep herself small, but rich? It seemed too steep a price to pay, even for her. But it was enough to give her pause.
For just a moment, Anna stared into the stone. Should she give it up? Or was she really foolish enough to try and take it with her? | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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