Ted tossed and turned angrily in the bed.  “This is STUPID!!” he yelled, not bothering to keep his voice down.

His mom had left half an hour ago, but her words still reverberated loudly in his ears: “I’m headed out for some errands, dear.  I’ve asked your sister to check in on you periodically.  She’s promised to be respectful of you and to only help if needed.  Otherwise, she’ll leave you alone.  I know you’re not happy with this, but I’m sorry Ted, there’s no other choice.  I’ll be back in a few hours.”

This was the first time Mom had left him alone in the house with his sister, Elle.  Mom had promised she wouldn’t do that, and Ted was furious.  He’d protested as hard as he could, but of course it was no use.  He might as well not even have bothered.  If Mom didn’t want to hear his objections, there was nothing he could do about it except watch her leave and then stew angrily in his room.

His new room was awful.  There was nothing for him to do here, other than basically just lie down and sleep.  And the room was too small for him – literally.  It was designed for someone about two-thirds of his size.  Tall enough to stand in, but everything felt a little bit miniaturized.  Mostly the bed, which his leg was hanging out the end of, nearly to his knee.

“You’ll grow into it,” his mom had told him.  Hell of a word choice, he thought sourly.

  The sheets and blankets were thick and coarse, too; not really comfortable at all.  And they were pink, clearly designed for girls, not him.  But it was ‘the best they could do on short notice’, according to Mom.  Really, the whole situation totally sucked ass.

And worst of all, there were no doors in the room.  There was only one way in or out, and he didn’t like it one bit.  What if I have to go to the bathroom while Mom’s gone?  There was a place set up for him to relieve himself in private, but it wasn’t in here.  It’s humiliating enough having to ask Mom to take me there … but my sister!?  No freaking way!

He grunted and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.  If he was lucky, he could nap straight through until Mom got back.

* * *

He awoke as gentle tremors ran through his bed.  Tremors became quakes, and soon the flimsy walls around him began to rattle.  **Creeeaaak**  The door far away beyond his room complained loudly as it opened.

Now each quake were accompanied by loud a loud THUMPPP!!!, as both grew even stronger.  Dread ran through him; his heart accelerated and his breaths quickened.  He simply couldn’t help it.  Visits from his mom were distressing enough – and she meant well!  But Elle was another matter.  How long was I asleep?  Maybe it’s Mom, he hoped.  Maybe—

The roof over his head was suddenly ripped away, and he knew it was Elle for sure; his mom would have given verbal warning first.  He kept his eyes shut and pretended to still be asleep, as he heard the light plastic roof clatter to the ground a ways away.

 “WAKE UP, LITTLE BRO,” Elle’s voice boomed deafeningly, straining his eardrums.  He flinched involuntarily, fighting the urge to cup his hands over his ears.  Elle, unlike Mom, rarely bothered to lower her voice out of consideration for him; and the close walls of his room served to amplify the sound even further.

He made the mistake of opening his eyes just a little more and turning his head.  He was immediately met with the mountainous sister hovering far above.  He shuddered, awestruck.  This reaction still hit him, every time.

He saw her lips turn down in a frown.  He hastily shut his eyes and rolled his head back.

“YEAH FREAKING RIGHT,” she scoffed.  “I KNOW YOU’RE AWAKE.  ARE YOU GONNA MAKE ME POKE YOU?”

He inhaled sharply.  She wouldn’t dare!!  But when he opened his eyes, he saw his sister’s massive hand descending right toward him.

He gave a strangled yelp as her index finger stopped just short of ramming into his ribcage.  He didn’t even have time to yell an objection, though, before her massive fingernail raked downward and yanked the blanket right off of his nude body.

“What the hell!?!?” he screeched, covering up his nakedness frantically with both hands.

“WHAT THE HELL!?” Elle echoed, in similar fashion – only, far louder.  “EWW, GROSS!!!  OH MY GOD.”

Her fingers hastily picked up the blanket and threw it haphazardly back onto the bed, blacking out his vision.  He furiously uncovered his head and bellowed at the top of his lungs, “God damn it, Elle!!!  You have no right to take my blanket off, or even reach in here without my permission!!  I’m telling Mom!!  And by the way, I’m not your ‘little bro’ – I’m three years older than you, dammit!!  I’m in college, and you’re not!!”

Her look of disgust gave way to irritation.  “DUDE, I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’RE EVEN TALKING,” she said disdainfully.  “I CAN’T HEAR YOU, NUMBNUTS.”

This room had come equipped with a microphone, as well as a speaker sitting outside, that he was supposed to be able to talk into so people could hear him easily.  But when they tried it for the first time yesterday, it hadn’t worked.  A replacement was on the way, but wouldn’t be here for another couple days.  In any case, his voice could still be heard well enough if people leaned in close and listened – like Mom did – but either Elle didn’t realize this or, more likely, was playing dumb just to piss him off.

He yelled and gestured angrily at her to lean closer, but she just shrugged and picked up the little roof again, holding it over his miniature room.  “Whatever,” Elle declared snootily.  “I don’t even care.  I need you for something, so I’ll give you 30 seconds to dress, and then I’m carrying you ouT, whether you got clothes on or not.”

The roof slammed closed with a deafening thud.  “Dammit, Elle!!” he yelled again.  He could see her massive leg standing nearby, through the window of his miniature room, and he tightened his fists.  “You don’t scare me!!” he declared, for no real reason.

But after nearly ten seconds ticked by and he still hadn’t done anything, he began to worry.  Elle was strictly forbidden from carrying him or interacting with him in any way, except for good reason and only with his express permission.  If she were to do so, as she claimed, she’d be in big trouble with Mom as soon as she got back.  And yet, Elle had never really been one to weigh her options carefully and worry about the consequences of her actions …

He decided to put clothes on, in the off chance she wasn’t bluffing.  She could rip the roof off at any moment, so he acted fast to slip on his miniature underwear, shorts, and a tank top.

As soon as he’d gotten the tank top on, the roof lifted away.  “YOU DRESSED YET?” his sister boomed, squeezing her eyes shut then reluctantly peeking with one eye.  “WHEW,” she said, opening them as soon as she saw he was clothed.  “YOU KNOW, THAT’S SO GROSS YOU SLEEP NAKED,” she criticized.

“Screw you!!” he yelled angrily.  “I—“

“OK, HOLD STILL.”

He watched in disbelief as both her hands swooped down and closed around him, the way one would catch a grasshopper or a moth.

The edge of her left palm barreled into his calves a split-second later, cutting his legs out from under him, as his butt and torso slammed back against the rest of her palm.  A moment later, her right palm clasped over her left and enclosed him completely in a makeshift prison, with only thin streams of light coming in through the gaps in her fingers.

Part 2

He flailed and kicked and yelled, but to no effect.  Her hands abruptly lurched upward, faster and more abruptly than any theme park ride he’d ever been on.  Flattened to her hand, he saw the ground plummeting away through the gaps, suddenly five stories below him in only a second or two.  Blood drained from his head then rushed back, dizzying him.  He’d always been afraid of heights, and until now Mom had been the only one to carry him – and she’d always done so extremely gently, careful not to move too fast and always watching for a signal from him to stop.  And Mom also usually set him on a small plate or saucer and carried him on that, so he was a little more protected and didn’t have to look straight down or anything.

His sister, though, took a far more cavalier approach to handling him.  Her right hand lifted away; his feet had been propped against it, and for one harrowing moment his legs and backside slid forward, treacherously close to falling off her palm …

He cried out, twisted, clawed toward safety.  Her palm tilted back to help him, as it turned out; but he couldn’t have known it would.

“Oh, relaaaaax,” Elle quipped, rolling her eyes down at him from still multiple stories above him.  “I’m being careful with you.  You’re not gonna fall, unless you keep squirming like that.”  Her voice was still so loud, but not totally deafening now that the walls weren’t there to amplify it.

He splayed his limbs out along the thick skin and deep ridges of her palms, to lower his center of gravity as much as possible and find some stability as her hand carelessly swayed about.  Every time she shifted her stance even a little, it could have knocked him off his feet.  Everything about this was unnerving.

Once he felt relatively safe, he unleashed the full wrath of his voice on her.  “I’m gonna kill you for this!!  Or … or Mom’s gonna!!  You let me down right now, or it’ll be even worse!!!”

“Umm, what?” she retorted.  “All I hear is a bunch of little squeaks.  Like, what are you even saying?”

He responded by yelling even louder, sitting up, and gesticulating furiously at her and then at his room down below.

Elle snorted.  “You wanna go back in your little toy bedroom, huh?”  She cracked a little smirk.  “Nah.  You’re gonna help me and my friend Stacy for a little bit.  Don’t worry – I’m gonna put you right back afterwards, lil’ guy.”

He balled his fists.  “You put me back right now!!!  Or I’ll—“

Her right hand clamped down and cut him off from the outside world once again.  In frustration, he lunged up and slammed his fist into her palm as hard as he could.  Her flesh was firm and unyielding; he wondered if she even felt it at all.

Her hands heaved forward and side to side as deafening THUMPs resonated through her body and his.  She wasn’t being particularly careful to hold her hands steady in front of her, and he was buffeted about by the natural motion of her hands as she walked.  The glimpses he caught between her fingers were all familiar sights – blue and white wallpaper, the hallway bathroom he used to use, pictures on the wall of their family, even of him at full size – all of it blown up to freakish proportions, and whizzing by with alarming speed.

He caught glimpses of them entering the living room.  He heard the TV on in the background.  After a few more steps, he felt Elle slowing.  “What’s that?” he heard an attractive female voice say, slightly muffled through Elle’s hands.

He recognized the voice instantly.  Ohhh … Stacy.  I remember her.  She’s Elle’s age, but she’s freaking hot.  And I don’t know, but I think she might have a thing for me …

He frowned.  Or used to.  Crap … she’s never seen me this size!!

“Oh, this?” Elle asked.  Suddenly her hands hurled side to side – she did it on purpose!!  His body thumped into her right palm then her left, really hard!

“Oww!!  God damn it!!” he shouted, more in frustration than pain.

“Just a lil’ somethin’ to help us out,” Elle went on.  Then her hands plunged downward, like the Doom Drop ride at his favorite theme park.  Only, he hated that ride.

He went into a free fall, then lurched to a halt without warning, gravity pressing him hard into her hand. He rolled and tumbled forward as blinding midday light surrounded him.  He hit a hard surface and rolled some more, ending up on his stomach with his face staring down at some cold, black surface like glass.

“Holy shit, is that … your brother??” he heard Elle’s hot friend say, her voice far boomier than he remembered.

“Yup,” Elle replied, like a thunderclap above his head.

He slowly picked his head up, seeing himself lying amidst a forest of odd glass … sculptures.  Some were shorter than him, and some were taller; and all were weirdly shaped.  But … familiar.

It struck him: A chessboard.  I’m on a chessboard.  It’s the one in the living room, the one I used to use all the time.  Holy hell, I didn’t recognize it.

His heart pounded as he stood up.  There were massive black stone statues farther down – the black pieces.  And looming above them was gorgeous, stunning Stacy.

To him she appeared, oh, roughly a cool 130 feet taller than he remembered her being.  No big deal…

Her dreamy brown eyes regarded him for a moment then rose several stories above him.  He turned around to witness the towering form of his sister hovering not far behind him.

“OK if we use him?” Elle asked.

Stacy gave a snort.  “You serious?  Umm … sure, I guess.”  She cracked a smile.  “Could be fun.”

Ted swiveled his head between them.  “Use me for what??”  He waved his arms in huge circles to get their attention.  “Hey!  Use me for what!?!?”  For advice? he wondered.  I am a lot better at chess than Elle.

“Ugh,” beautiful Stacy scoffed loudly, drowning out his thoughts.  “Is he gonna move like that while we play, though?  That’s gonna be distracting.”

A warm, humid gale of wind blasted down from above him, almost knocking him over.  “The fuck!?!” he shouted, whirling around.  His sister’s face was hovering alarmingly close, almost two stories tall on its own.  She just blew on me! he realized furiously.

“STAND STILL UNLESS I SAY,” she said, in her normal voice which was now utterly deafening.  He cringed and clenched his teeth and forced himself not to cover his ears.  “GOT IT, LIL’ BROTHER?”

His ears were ringing but he shook it off and yelled, “Why the hell should I stand still?!?  I can give advice from anywhere, you know!!”

She laughed, and this time he covered his ears – her voice was excruciating.  “HEY, I COULD ALMOST HEAR YOU THAT TIME!” she teased.  Then, mercifully, her face lifted away.

“What’d he say?” Stacy asked.

Elle shrugged her massive shoulders.  “Dunno.  Who cares.  You ready?”

“Yep,” her friend replied.

Without further ado, Elle’s hand whooshed by on his left, heading for the king’s pawn.  It startled him so much that he stumbled and fell forward, his face smacking into the solid glass pawn ahead of him.  It didn't give even slightly when he hit it - he'd have to be probably four times his size, or more, just to budge this solid ingot of glass even a bit. He slumped against its sloped side while massaging his head.

Elle finished her move then exclaimed loudly, “HEY!  I told you to stand still!!”

"Did you not see me fall!?" he yelled, slowly rising to his feet. "It’s ‘cuz your stupid hand almost hit me, idiot!!"  He dusted himself off and looked at the sculpture garden around him again.

He decided he’d had enough.  "I don't want to spectate your stupid game!!" he shouted up at Elle, stepping off the board. “And I’m not gonna help!  Figure out your own damned moves!"

"What's he saying now?" Stacy asked, looking down at him quizzically. 

"No idea," Elle replied.  "Just ignore him."

"Screw you!" Ted yelled.  "Don't friggin’ ignore me!!"

"Ugh."  Elle scowled as she leaned her head much closer. "WHAT ARE YOU NOT GETTING ABOUT THIS??”

Her hand suddenly popped up from beneath the table and hovered in front of him.  With a quick flick, her index finger barreled toward him but pulled back just an arm’s length in front of him.  He jumped back – that could have done serious damage to him, if she’d flicked just a little farther forward!

“What the—Hey!!”  She flicked again, even closer this time!  He could feel the air moving around her finger!  He leapt back another couple steps – and she did it again!!  He felt like he had barely jumped back fast enough that time.

He was back where he started now, standing on that black square.  “God damn it!!  What the hell!!!” he bellowed, gesticulating furiously.  “How dare you d—“

“ALRIGHT, NOW STAY THERE!” she boomed.  “GEEZ!  IS THAT SO HARD FOR YOU TO COMPREHEND??”  She sat straight again; her voice was softer now, but only a little.  “Man, I’m gonna be pissed if I look down and find my knight has run off again.”

Stacy snorted.  “Yeah, tell me about it.”

Ted’s mouth hung open.  “Your … your knight??”  He looked around, then gasped.  I’m standing on the knight’s square.  A swift shriek escaped his lips.  I AM the knight!

The reality of his situation sank in.  "Jesus tapdancing Christ!" he blurted, gesticulating wildly.  "You can't be freaking serious!!  This isn’t funny, Elle!!!”

"Great,” Stacy complained, rolling her eyes.  “He’s being all distracting again.”

He turned his wrath toward his crush – former crush, as of this minute!   "Yeah – I'm fucking upset as hell!!” he bellowed.  “Look how goddamned upset I am!!  Dammit, I'm a grown man, not a chess piece!!"

“Teddy …” his sister threatened, behind him.

But Stacy chimed in at just the right time and said, with a sigh, “Maybe we oughta find somethin’ else to use.  I dunno, a paperweight or somethin’.”

His mood suddenly changed.  “Hell yes!”  He was officially back on Team Stacy, and—

“Pfft,” scoffed his sister.  “I’m not lettin’ him off easy just ‘cuz he’s being a dweeb.  Besides … look at him.  He’s, like, the perfect size.”

Stacy snickered.  “He really is, though!”  She straightened in her seat.  “Alright, my move.”  She furrowed her brow then calmly moved her own king’s pawn and sat back in her chair.

He felt a growing knot in his stomach, as his sister took her next move, and Stacy after that..  "That's it?" he asked aloud. His voice became strained, almost pleading. This is really happening.  "Stop messing around!” he yelled forlornly, unsurprised when neither girl paid him any mind.  His voice dropped and became almost pleading.  “Can't we talk about this??  Oh, hell …”

His sister's huge hand plucked the two-ton glass pawn a couple columns away and lifted it without effort to land with an impressive thud two spaces ahead. 

He turned his anger toward gorgeous Stacy.  “Hey!  You used to be into me!” he said, almost accusatorily.  “I used to catch you staring at me!”  He groaned.  “Back when I wasn’t the size of a chess piece…”  Her attraction was clearly a thing of the past now.

Still … what a view.  “Hot damn…” he admired aloud, eyes widening as Stacy reached forward to move another pawn.

A deep valley of cleavage opened up to his greedy eyes.  He knew exactly where he wanted to be just then …

Stacy's pawn thumped to a new spot on the board.  Once again, Elle’s hand appeared again out of nowhere and grabbed the bishop's pawn kitty-corner to him. He shuddered as even the lightest setting of the pawn on the board created a definitive thud like a large slab of marble being set down. "This is dangerous," he muttered aloud, shaking his head. "I shouldn't be here!" he called up to his sister, over his shoulder. "Not that you care!!"

He watched the game unfold in tense silence.  A few moves later, Elle's enormous queen slid across the board, into an overly aggressive position.  "Bad move,” he commented.  “You shouldn’t have moved there!”  But of course she’s not listening to me – I’m just another piece on her board!

He fidgeted uncomfortably as more and more pieces moved around him. "You know," he reasoned aloud, "there are games where the knight hardly moves."  He sighed and kept a wary eye on Elle at first.  But, increasingly, his eyes gravitated toward her opponent opponent and that whole goddamned valley of cleavage. "I could roam around on those for days..." he mused wistfully.  He'd obviously felt girls’ breasts before, but never at mini-size.  They say it’s a life-changing experience…

"God," he muttered, watching those breasts sway as she periodically leaned then pulled back after each move.  He even caught her adjusting her top at one point - THAT was glorious.

What would he even say to her now, if they were ever alone?  Was there anything he could say to get her interested in him?  It wasn’t at all encouraging that the few times she glanced his way, her gaze was bland and detached, as if he truly were just another piece on the board.  She was so focused on the game now that he wondered if even flailing his arms would gain her attention at this point.  It might not.

He watched Stacy move her bishop out of the back line, setting up an attack.  It was hard to see the board from his perspective, but he had a decent sense of the game so far.  “Elle’s gonna want to retreat her bishop and stay defensive,” he declared.  One thing about being small, he could think out loud whenever he wanted.  “Yeah.  That’ll put Stacy in an awkward position, and then Elle can develop her left side of the board.  Mmhmm.  And—“

By the time he saw the shadow come over him, it was too late.  Elle’s huge pointer finger whooshed down out of nowhere and compressed down on his chest, in tandem with her unseen thumb on his back.

 He let out a startled shriek as his body lurched two stories into the air with terrifying speed.

She lowered him just as fast – but she carelessly released him with his legs still several feet above the board.

He landed with a thud and stumbled forward, slamming right into the bishop in front of him.  Needless to say, the bishop got the better of that collision.

He rolled off the solid glass sculpture and put a hand to his temple, shaking off the dreadful ordeal he’d just suffered through.  He would like to think that he'd just faced the worst of it ... but he was a knight now, after all.  And what knight's journey had ever been easy?  

"Ughh ..." he groaned, "why can't I just do real knight stuff like ... fight a dragon.  And bed the princess afterwards!!"  He shied away as Stacy's hand moved a piece just a square away.  He stomped his feet.  "This SUCKS!!  Let me fight the Killer freaking Rabbit of bloody Caerbannog!!!  Even that would be better than putting up with this crap!!"

He sighed.  "I'm gonna need my mom to save me, aren't I?  Yup ... pretty freaking screwed until then.  What a knight, indeed."

Part 4

“Interesting move,” Stacy commented, pursing her lips.  The giant girl’s eyes kept turning to him as she plotted a move of her own.

Show no fear, sir knight!  He stood valiant, resolute.

“Hmm,” Stacy hummed, as she reached out and chose … The Black Knight.  Ted’s face hardened in a scowl.

“I have no quarrel with you, good Sir Knight!” he shouted.  “Hey – you hear me?”

The knight started moving in his direction.

“I, uh … I command you to stand aside, worthy adversary!”

Closer …

“I COMMAND you--oh fuck …”

The marble stallion moved directly over his head, threatening to turn this white knight into raspberry jam with just a little movement from Stacy’s hand.  He put his hands up, not feeling quite so brave.

“Bravely bold Sir Ted,” he for some reason decided to sing, “rode forth from Camelot … He was not afraid to--Eek!!”  The knight levitated sideways, as Stacy pondered thoroughly. 

“He was not at all afraid to die,” Ted hummed, “to be—“  Whoosh!  The knight dipped toward him. “Gah!!  Killed in nasty ways!!!  TO BE MASHED INTO A--!!”

The knight flew right past his head, kerthunking to the square beside him.

Ted picked himself up, his limbs quivering wildly.  “Th… That’s right!” he boasted meekly, shaking his hand at the piece with ease.  “I wasn’t scared!  You … you’ve got no arms!  You—”

A southerly wind at his back told him to duck.  He did, and the shadow of Elle’s hand touched him but her huge fingers came up short.

“Hey!!” her voice boomed from above.  He lost it, sprinting around the Black Knight himself and ducking for cover.

He panted wildly.  The knight was cold to the touch; uninviting.  “Oh, what are you going to do?” Ted muttered to the slab of marble.  “Bleed on me?”

“Chess pieces don’t move on their own!!” Elle roared.  “Get BACK to your spot!!”

Ted peeked around, saw two huge eyes alight with fury.  “His head smashed in and his heart--dammit, enough of that!”

“Get … BACK!!” Elle hissed, clenching her fist above him.

“His liver removed and--!”

“Fuck it,” Elle boomed.

“His bottom burnt off and his pen—Arrghh!!”  The knight flew sideways with a terrifying crash.  Her hand, forward …

“BRAVELY BOLD SIR TED!!”  He ran like hell.  “BRAVELY RAN AWAY!!”

He dodged; her hand pummeled a pawn instead.  He veered and ran like the dickens, shouting at the top of his lungs, “WHEN DANGER REARED ITS UGLY HEAD, HE BRAVELY TURNED HIS TAIL AND--”

KaTHOOMP!!  An anvil dropped down outta nowhere, knocking him clean off his feet – the anvil being Stacy’s fingertip, which pinned him right in place.

"Got him!" Stacy declared cheerfully, as if she’d just smushed a fly.  All the bravery in the world couldn’t have helped him now, as her thumb and forefinger moved down and sandwiched his leg.  That was all she needed to pick him up off the table … up and up …

He squealed again as the board receded away.  Why do I have to hate heights so much!?

Upside-down, he looked forward to find Stacy’s massive chest passing by in his view, then her slender neck, then smiling lips and sparkling eyes.  She held him at eye level, her head tilted in curiosity.  Her face, upside down, filled most of his vision.  That is, until his eyes doubled back to her cleavage above him – or … below.  Whatever.   Holy HELL, what a rack!  I could bounce on those for dayyyys…

It was a true testament to the male libido, that he managed to fixate on that even now, with five stories worth of nothing but air beneath him.

"FESITY ONE," the girl commented deafeningly, her voice now painfully close.  Her fingers wiggled side to side, making his body sway frightfully.  Her fingers were clamped against his leg like a vice – but just how secure was it?  Not very!

He could swear he saw a brief twitch of surprise and amusement on her lips as she undoubtedly heard him shriek once, then again.

“YOU SAID YOUR MOM IS COOL WITH THIS, RIGHT?" her ear drum shattering voice asked Elle.

His sister snorted behind him. "Who’s my mom gonna believe?  Me, or some little shrimp?”

He lost it.  “Th-That’s a t-t-terrible line of reasoning!!!” he bellowed.  “She’ll definitely believe me!!!  Stacy, p-put me down!!!”

"What did you say, little guy?" Stacy asked, smiling cutely as she turned her ear toward him.

Elle snorted. "Who cares?"

Stacy shrugged, which sent his body swaying.  "I kinda wanna know what he said."  She pulled him even closer to her face.  "SERIOUSLY, WHAT’D YOU SAY?"

Ted shuddered in awe of his beautiful but terrifying captor.  “P-Put me d-down!!!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Stacy gave a short laugh, blasting his eardrums.  “HE SAYS TO PUT HIM DOWN,” she relayed to Elle, who snorted once more.

Stacy turned her amused gaze back at him.  “BUT WHY, LITTLE GUY?”

This can’t be happening, he bemoaned, as she sent him swaying with another slight shake.  He told her why, and she laughed out loud.

“HE SAYS HE’S AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!” Stacy blared, teeth exposed, as she grinned at Elle.  “THAT’S GOTTA SUCK FOR HIM, HUH?"

He was losin’ it big time, pressing his hands to his ears and twisting all about.  Stacy rolled her eyes.  “FINE.  I’LL PUT YA DOWN.”

“Just let him go,” Elle interjected.

Huh?

“LET HIM GO?”

“Yeah, drop him.”

“What!?!” Ted shrieked.  “Don’t drop me!!!”

“OK, sure,” said Stacy, to Elle.

“I’m not a freaking ANT!!  I can’t survive th—“  Stacy’s grip loosened.  “HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL OH MY GOD!!!”  He plunged, and had never screamed harder …

Thump.  He came to a halt, far too soon and onto a large, familiar, semi-soft, textured surface, more than large enough to hold him.  It was his sister’s hand.

“Ho-o-o-oly …,” he wheezed, breathless.  He was sprawled face-down on Elle’s palm and never would have thought he’d be glad to see it.

Five fingers, each rivaling his body in size, enclosed around him and held him tight.  He struggled for air as Elle looked upon him with distressing disdain.  At this distance he could see the individual muscles of her brow tightening, furrowing.  Wrinkles forming around her eyes as they narrowed and glared.  The powerful tendons of her jaw flexing as she clenched her jaw.  She actually seemed to be holding back, somewhat – thank god, because her hand was starting to squeeze just a little tighter…

“I’LL BE NICE,” her voice blared, “AND LET YOU MOVE YOURSELF – BUT ONLY IF YOU MOVE WHERE I SAY, RIGHT AWAY.  AND DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING TO RUN AGAIN, OR I’M GONNA GET REALLY PISSED.  GOT IT?”

It was a miracle he didn’t pee his pants.  She really would drop me then …

“GOT IT??”  She shook him – not as hard as Stacy had, but hard enough.  She pulled him even closer, until he could feel her hot breath pouring over him.  He struggled but her hand held him fast.  He couldn’t escape her piercing, terrible gaze.

“Okay!!” he blurted, gesticulating wildly.  “Okay!!  I’ll do it!!  Criminey!!!”

“Dang, he looks scared!” Stacy commented, leaning closer in behind him.

By all the things holy … Elle eased up and set him down on the board – relatively gently.  “Yeah,” she told Stacy, “he’s still used to bossin’ me around.  Guess he’s still got some learnin’ to do.  You know, he used to come pound on my door if I laid in bed for even, like, ONE minute on a school day.  And pester me ALL the time about doing my chores!”

“Really?”

“Really!  It wasn’t even his job!  He just decided he—“

Her voice cut off the instant she looked down.  Her scowl returned, not so forbearing as before.

“WHY ARE YOU NOT MOVING YET??” she snapped.  A finger came down from the heavens with uncanny speed and slammed into the board in front of him – just inches away!!  If her aim had been just a little bit off … Yeeeesh!!

"UNDERSTAND, LITTLE BROTHER?" she asked, glaring at him from around her knuckle.

He nodded like a bobblehead, teeth rattling.  To demonstrate, he turned and hastened to his spot, which was D4 … or E4?  Or … oh hell.  He leapt onto a vacant square, pretty sure it was right.  But running for one’s life tends to make one forget these things.  He held his breath and …

“FINALLY.”  Elle rolled her eyes and looked at Stacy.  “Little twerp’s really gotta work on his rule-following.”

Urghh.  His eye twitched.  Some lingering sense of pride, or maybe masochistic impulse, sent him back into defiance.  He boldly stepped forward out of his appointed square, knowing if he didn’t stand up to her now, he’d—

Her hand whooshed down, and … *Ping!* With a quick flick of her finger, the massive bishop to his left vaulted toward him, slamming his chest and still coming …

*THOOOMP!*  Two solid tons of marble crashed into the board as he collapsed alongside it.

He screeched like a schoolgirl, but an octave higher.  “Eeeeekkk!!  Enough!!”  The last of his nerve had snapped; he was done testing the limits of human stupidity.  “Game over, man!” he muttered, fearfully scrambling to his feet and skittering back to his square.  “I ain’t dyin’ over this!”

Her dry chuckled boomed in his ears.  “I just knew he’d try it anyway.”  She’d been waiting for it.

Foolhardiness had limits, even for him.  “You want a chess piece?” he shouted, waving his fist.  “I’ll show you a goddamned chess piece!  I’ll be the best goddamned chess piece anyone’s ever seen!”

Stacy laughed.  “Aww, he’s cute.”

He decided to take that as a compliment.

Elle’s grin widened, troubling him possibly more than her former glare.  “C’mon, try it again, Teddy … let’s have some real fun…”

Yeesh!!  OK … DEFINITELY entering Chess Piece mode.  It’s all fun and games until someone ends up as a smudge on the board!  Christ, does she not see the risks??

“Hmph,” Elle said, when he didn’t budge.  “I guess he’s letting me win …”

He didn’t fall for her goading.  And mercifully, Stacy chimed up.  “Win?  Well, you’re not beatin’ me!”

“Ha!”  The girls focused back on the game now – the best he could hope for, really.  And yes, he played his part admirably, proceeding through one announced move after another with dignity and grace.  He even felt some odd sense of accomplishment when “he” captured one pawn, then another, and even a rook, and—

“Oof!” He took the lower rim of a bishop to the gut as Stacy thumped him good.

“You’re outta here, bub!” she declared.  The instant his feet left the square, her bishop slammed down to take his place.

Whew.  He was all too happy to sit the rest of this out, from the sidelines.

* * *

Both girls, he had to admit, were not half bad at chess.  He stood amongst the other captured minions off to the side and watched the remaining gladiators of glass and marble duke it out to the end.

“Damn!” Elle exclaimed, as Stacy finally cornered her king.  She looked for any last chance of escape, but finally knocked her king over onto its side, declaring defeat.  The board trembled beneath his feet with a sense of finality.

“Good game,” Elle conceded, shaking Stacy’s hand over the table.

“You, too,” Stacy replied, her cleavage looking good as ever.  “You’re gettin’ better.  Wanna play one more?”

Ted’s brow hiked up.  “Ohhh hell …”

“Nah,” his sister replied.  “I’m good for now.”

“Whew!” exclaimed Ted.

The girls rose, two skyscrapers looming above him.  “So, what now?” asked Stacy.

“Eh … guess I should put Ted back.  He’s not really s’posed to be out here.”

“No shit!” Ted agreed.  “Fuckin’ A!”  Back to my room – and later, rat her out to Mom!  Things are lookin’ up.

“Cool,” Stacy replied.  “I’ll run to the bathroom.”

Whew … He had a great time checking out Stacy’s nice legs and firm ass as she glided away, her feet causing tremors felt even through the table.  He—

Ermm… Two hands clasped the table on either side of him.  An ungodly massive blue-clad torso filled the entire space above him. 

His sister’s scowl returned as she brought her hand once again to bear on his hapless form below…

Again, she appeared in need of reminding that carrying a guy in hand was highly frowned upon and seen as dangerous and—

“Fuuuuck!!!”  He tried to dive at the last moment, but it was like dodging a freight train 10 feet in front of him.  Not gonna happen.

Fffwhooom!!  Her hand briskly reached its target and enshrouded him in darkness.  And the lurching, dizzying, vomit-inducing roller coaster ride began once again, as she carried him back to his room.  His …

Wait … He caught a glimpse of her turning left, not right at the end of the hall!

“Errrghh … where … fuuuugh … are you GOING!?”

THOOMP THOOMP THOOMP … Shrrrkk!!  Something sliding open; a … drawer?

Her fingers opened up, like the arm of a crane suddenly releasing its cargo into a dead drop as the air whooshed past his face, faster and faster … “Aiyeeee!!!” he shrieked, plunging into a dark cavern, until—

Pooomphh!!!  He sank into layer upon layer of some soft, cottony canvas, absorbing his fall with ease and bouncing him back slightly on the recoil.  Gasping for breath, he spun about, gripping the coarse fibers around him – definitely fabric of some kind, mostly white with large pink heart shapes in a regular pattern in all directions.

“You just HAD to give us crap today, huh?” his sister thundered.  He looked up to see her arrogant face peering down between the massive wooden siding and roof of this strangely rectangular cavern.  The wallpaper was not his own, but … Elle’s.  And it didn’t take long to surmise that the cavern was her dresser – which meant the huge canvas of cotton he was lying on was none other than a pair of his sister’s panties.

“Uggghhhhh!!!!”  He flipped out and tried to scramble away from her size three gajillion underwear, trying not to think where it had been …

“Yeah, yeah, squirm all you want,” Elle scoffed.  “This is the best place I could think of to put you in a little timeout – so you can think about how you wanna act next time Stacy comes over.  So just cool your jets and … I’ll be back.”

HELL no!!  “I’ll kill you for this!!” he shouted paradoxically.  “I’ll kick your ass and make you wish you—Ohhhh, crapola …”  The panties lurched beneath him.  With a smug little smirk, she kept going and pushed the drawer all the way shut, until not a peek of light came in.

“ELLE, YOU GOD DAMNED UGLY-FACED SMELLY ROTTEN STUPID-BUTT … BIMBO CLOWN!!!”  He quickly ran out of insults, as a series of fading tremors signified his sister’s departure from the bedroom.

His anger faded into a dry, sardonic laugh as he contemplated the twists of fate that had led him here.  Used as a chess piece, and now trapped in his sister’s panty drawer.  “Oh, she’s gonna regret this!” Ted declared, making the difficult trek across the stack of underwear and hoping he could at least find socks instead.  “She’s in SO much trouble when Mom gets home!!”

She undoubtedly would be; and yet, she undoubtedly didn’t care about that right now.  Her short-sightedness was infuriating!

Well, after traversing one stack of underwear, there was another right beside it.  “For god’s sake…”  He let himself sink into the deep crevice between the piles, resigning himself to his fate until Elle damned well decided to let him out.

“Ugh … what a day.”  What a day indeed.

THE END

Bonus obligatory cleavage shot (What story would be complete without it?):