Greg Turner woke up from his slumber in this queen-sized bed. It was a nice sleep, in the most comfortable bed he had ever laid in. He yawned as he rose out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. After relieving himself in the toilet, he looked in the mirror as he washed his hands and face. At 5' 11", his black cornrows were a perfect match for his dark skin, and his dark brown eyes were still somewhat drowsy.

He walked into the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator. He pulled out a carton of orange juice and pours its contents into a glass. As he drunk his beverage, he looked outside of the window of his one-story house. Though it was morning, it was dark as night outside.

Of course, that was because his house was actually a dollhouse, which was under the bed of the woman who changed his life forever.

Greg walked into the Las Auroras clubhouse, accompanied with his two friends: Harris, a tall, bald, athletic African American man; and Patrick, a caucasian man with curly blond hair and glasses. The three had just left from their evening Sociology class, and felt like unwinding at the local club. It was a Friday night, after all.

"YEEAH!!" Harris exclaimed. "Time to get us some booty!"

"Will you quiet down?" Patrick asked, annoyed at his friend already. "It's no good if you announce your intentions out loud like that, idiot."

"Ahh, calm down! I bet most of the people here are lookin' for some tail!"

"That may be true, but you don't hear them making such a racket about it. Congratulations on scaring away what small amount of women who would have been interested in you anyway."

"Shut up! I bet I could get more girls than you any day of the week!"

Greg ignored his two friends arguing. The truth is that the two of them are only friends through Greg, if you could even call them that.

"I'm going on ahead," Greg announced. "I'll catch up to you two later."

With that, he walked away from the two arguing men, who seemed to be drawing a crowd.

"Those two are gonna get themselves kicked out..." Greg said to himself. "Again."

~~~

Throughout the night, Greg greeted and conversed with many women in the club. However, one stood out. Her name was Parvati Singh. Like her name suggested, she was of North Indian descent, was about 5' 4", had semi-long dark reddish hair, and wore a red jewel bindi on her forehead. Greg thought that she was the most beautiful woman in the club, and approached her when she was alone.

The two greeted each other, and before they knew it, they were engaged in a long converstion about themselves. Usually, Greg's meet-and-greet would only last mere minutes before he moves onto another woman, but there was something about this woman. As he listened to her talk, he could not help but marvel at her light skin tone, her seductive brown eyes, and her slight accent.

"You know," Parvati said, "it's not often that I'm approached by Black men. They usually go for the Black women, or maybe the Mexicans."

Greg laughed. "Well, I'm pretty open-minded. I give all the ladies an equal chance. I can't pass up such gems as yourself."

"Oh, you're so sweet!" She giggled. "...And handsome, too."

"Thank you." Greg blushed.

~~~

Greg approached Harris and Patrick from the dance floor, with Parvati holding onto his arm.

"Hey," he said to the two. "I'm leaving early. Don't wait up on me."

"Ohhh!!" Harris said, excitedly. "You got someone! You sly dog, you!"

"Yeah." Greg rolled his eyes. "Maybe if you'd stop being so loud and cocky you could get one, too."

Harris twitched. "What...?"

Patrick laughed. "He's got you there."

"Anyway," Greg said, "I'll see you both later."

"Aight, man!" Harris said. "Be sure to tell us all about it!"

"Now you know I never kiss and tell." Greg said before he and his partner left the club.

"Lucky guy," Harris said. "I wish I could get a girl like that."

"Well, maybe you should do as he said," Patrick said. "Change your entire persona. Of course, that'd take a miracle of the highest caliber."

Harris became aggrivated. "I don't see you with any girls!"

"...That's because I haven't talked to any yet. I've found you sabotaging yourself much more enjoyable."

Harris muttered several explicitves under his breath.

~~~

Parvati had led Greg to her house. It was a small house, only one story tall, not including the attic and basement. The two were in her bedroom, stripped down to their underwear, and kissing each other on her bed.

"You're so beautiful," Greg said after pulling away from their kiss. "You're probably the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Parvati giggled as he drew close again for another kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to herself. The two rolled on the bed, switching positions and placing Parvati on top of Greg.

"Hey," Parvati said as she pulled away and looked down on the man below her. "Why don't you give me a massage?"

"Sure," Greg responded with a smile. "Where at?"

Parvati moved off of him and sat up beside him. "I'll let you choose."

"Really?" Greg's eyes widen. "And you won't think I'm weird if I choose something... abnormal?"

She laughed. "No. I'm pretty open-minded, too."

Greg smiled. "Well, that's good."

She saw him move in front of her. She expected him to rub on her breasts. Is that what he meant by "abnormal"? However, she was surprised when she saw him move away from her, moving towards her lower body, toward the end of the bed. He stopped at the foot of the bed, and sat up. He then grabbed her right foot, and began rubbing on it.

"'Abnormal,' you say?" She asked.

"Hehee... yeah." Greg said as he worked his thumbs around her sole.

"There's nothing weird about footrubs. Lots of girls like getting them. ....Oh that feels nice..."

"Yeah, I know. But I've managed to scare off many girls with what comes next."

"What do you mean?"

Greg pulled her foot to his face, and planted a kiss on the sole. Followed by a few more pecks.

Parvati flinched slightly after the first kiss, but she calmly accepted the others. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head.

"Out of curiousty, do you have a foot fetish, or are you just being nice?"

Greg looked at her. "That didn't take too long." He laughed a little. "But yeah. I do have a fetish."

"I see..." She giggled, and pointed her big toe in his face. "Suck it."

Greg gave a smile, and drew his open mouth to her toe. After placing it inside, he began to suckle it, licking under the toe with his tongue. During the whole process, he felt himself becoming hard.

"That tickles." Parvati giggled.

Greg then pulled her toe out of his mouth, and licked along her sole. This drew more giggles from the woman.

"You seem to be liking this," Greg said. "I don't usually get this far."

"Well, I did say that I was open-minded, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"So, what's your greatest fantasy?" Parvati asked him.

"Greatest fantasy? You sure you wanna hear it?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

"Oh... Well, my fantasy can't happen in real life. The best I can only hope for is role play."

"...Is that right?"

"Yeah. Well, anyway, my fantasy is this: I'd like to be shrunken by a cute woman. I'd be completely at her mercy, as she'd force me to worship her feet by licking and kissing them. Then, when all is said and done, and depending on how she's feeling, she'd either put me up to play with another time, or she'd step on me."

"Oh wow." Parvati laughed. "But wouldn't you die?"

"I suppose I would. It depends on whether she's barefoot or not, and if she is, how much force she puts into it. Though I wouldn't want to die. I'd like to be able to enjoy the sensation of being dominated like that again-and-again."

"I see... And you said it's impossible?"

Greg sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Parvati said slyly.

"What do you mean?" Greg became curious.

"I can make your deepest dreams come true."

"Riiight..." Greg said sarcastically as he moved back closer to her face. He placed his hands on her cheeks, and pressed is lips against hers. The two were once again in a sexual embrace, this time removing the remainder of their clothes in the process.

~~~

Greg woke up the next morning, alone in the bed. He sat up and headed for the bathroom, which was connected with the bedroom. After relieving hmself and washing his hands, he pulled his boxers back on, and walked out of the room. He smelled the aroma of eggs, and followed it into the kitchen.

There, he saw Parvati, frying the eggs in a pan over the stove. Her dark red hair was tied behind her, and she wore a white bathrobe and brown flip-flops that seemed to match her skin. Greg couldn't help but not take his eyes off of her feet.

"Good morning!" Parvati said with a smile. "See something you like?"

Greg laughed as he quickly averted his gaze to her face. "Maybe."

"Well, I'm almost done with breakfast, so you can sit down right there." She pointed to the table nearby.

Greg walked to it and pulled out a chair, sitting down in it. As he watched her cook the food, and her feet as she walked around the kitchen, he thought about what she had said the night before, about his fantasy. How she could make his deepest dreams come true. He would love to be at her mercy. In fact, more than ever, he wished that he was a mere three inches tall, and was under her foot.

"What did you mean about what you said last night?" He asked.

She winked. "After breakfast."

~~~

The two had just finished eating. Parvati rinsed off the plates in the sink, and placed them inside of the dishwasher.

"Now," she said as she turned to him, "about last night..."

"Yeah, what about that?" Greg asked as he stood up from his chair.

"How would you react if I said that I was a witch?"

"'A witch'? Yeah, right... Witches don't exist. They're just fairy tales."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Is this a fantasy of yours?"

"It's not so much a fantasy as it is my life."

"Alright, then. Prove it."

"Sure. Come closer to me."

Greg walked from the table and came closer to her. She smiled and pointed at him. Greg was confused, until he saw a ball of light eminated from her index finger. The light quickly became larger, and soon engulfed his entire sight. However, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, and he was surprised that he was not blinded. He looked at the smiling Parvati as she withdrew her hand.

"So, what was that?" Greg asked, still in confusion.

"Wait and see," Parvati said with a smile.

Suddenly, Greg noticed Parvati growing. The woman was about 5' 4"a few seconds ago, and now seemed nearly 6-and-a-half feet tall. Was it true? Was she really a witch, and did she cast a growth spell? If so, then why did she aim at him. He then noticed the room around him expanding, and the floor below him becoming closer and the tiles becoming larger. Then, it hit him: He was shrinking. He couldn't believe it. He was actually shrinking.

The room stopped expanding, so he concluded that the shrinking process was over. He looked up at the now enormous woman above him. She was smiling down on the now diminutive man.

"See? Didn't I tell you that I'd make your deepest dreams come true?"

[End Chapter]

That morning... Greg remembered it well.

After waking up, he had intended to eat breakfast, and be on his way. Maybe get Parvati's phone number in the process.

However, sometimes, things do not go as planned. He did not expect this woman, whom he had met in a nightclub the night before, to have supernatural powers. Let alone shrink him down to the size of a small doll.

In his mind, as he microwaved frozen pancakes, he went over the events that took place that morning.

"See? Didn't I tell you that I'd make your deepest dreams come true?" Parvati said as smiled down at him.

Greg looked all around him. He could not believe his eyes. This was impossible. There's no such thing as witches or magical powers, and people cannot shrink. It's simply a rule of reality. This had to be a dream. That's it. A dream. He figured that he was still asleep in Parvati's cozy bed, still resting after their night together.

He closed his eyes. As clichéd as it was, he pinched himself. Twice. And a few more times. He opened his eyes again, and found that he was still standing in the kitchen, a mere few inches tall, and that the woman he slept with was still as tall as before.

He fell down, landing on his buttocks. "This is... No... This is... This can't be..." He was astonished, and breathless.

"What's wrong?" Parvati asked. "Having a hard time taking all of this in?"

"Of course!" Greg exclaimed as he stood back up, and taking in a deep breath. "What did you do to me?!"

"Didn't you hear me? I'm a witch. I used my magic to shrink you. I'd say you're about 3 inches tall now."

"Three inches? I thought I was smaller."

"If you want to be smaller, I can do that. Making things smaller takes barely any effort at all. Making them larger is another story altogether..."

"No, that's fine. ...Though out of curiosity, how small could you make me?"

"Oh..." Parvati started to think to herself, looking skyward and digging her index finger below her lower lip. "If I wanted to, you'd be looking at molecules."

Greg's eyes widened. "...That's far too small for me."

"Yeah, I bet it is," Parvati said with a small laugh. "If you were that small, you couldn't have fun with me."

"'Fun'?"

Parvati walked towards the kitchen table. As she walked over him, Greg took it upon himself to look up, inside of her bathrobe.

"Panties." Greg said to himself, and then let out a small sigh, before turning towards Parvati. She was now sitting in one of the chairs, it having been turned towards him.

She made a "Come here" geisture with her index finger, and giving him a smile. As he walked towards her, he looked at her now massive feet. She sat with her left leg crossed over her right, and her left flip-flop dangling from her toes. Though he had seen girls do this many times before, back when he was his "correct" size, seeing this now aroused him more than it did those other times.

He finally reached her, standing a foot away from her right foot. He looked at her face as she leaned forward and looked down on him.

"That took longer than I thought it would," she said. "Don't you want to play with the girls?"

"Oh, I do. Believe me, I do." Greg said, as his eyes constantly shifted from her face to her feet, and back. "But at this size, it's going to take me a while to get around, you know?"

She laughed. "True, true. So, what do you want to do first?"

"Umm... I don't know..." In actuality, several ideas were flowing around in his head.

"Well, I have an idea," she said.

Greg flinched as he heard a loud, slapping sound. He looked to his left, and her left flip-flop had falled to the floor. He then saw her left leg move out of its crossed position, and stretch out towards him. He was now face-to-face with her left sole.

"Why don't you give me a massage?" Parvati asked. "Like last night."

"Sure!" Greg placed his hands on the giant sole in front of him, and began to rub around it. This was nothing like last night. Her foot was now twice his size. It would take more effort than it did before to give her a good massage. As he worked the arch and the sole, he marveled at its size.

If this was a dream, he did not want to wake up. He had always wanted to be this small, and at the foot of a very beautiful woman. To think that it actually happened made Greg giddy with joy.

It seemed that his massage was working. He heard Parvati moan above him. After a minute or so more of his rubbing, Greg decided to try a new angle. He began to tickle her sole. Her moaning turned into laugher as his fingers worked its way around her sole. However, his fun was interrupted as her foot pulled away from him.

"Hey, what's the deal?" Greg said, slightly disappointed. "I thought you were liking this."

Parvati slipped her right foot out of its flip-flop, and snatched him from the floor. Greg was now caught between her big and second toes, and wildly flailed his legs as she lifted her leg further from the floor.

"I only told you to massage my foot," Parvati said in a playful yet serious tone. "Now I have to punish you."

She then began to squeeze Greg, which caused him to scream. The pressure being applied on his ribs was immense. He thought that they would break at any moment now.

And yet, he was enjoying it. Even though she was most likely toying with him, he was happy to see a bit of her "evil" side manifest itself.

Just as quickly as it began, the squeezing was over. He felt the grip on his body loosen, and he fell to the floor. As he laid there at her feet, he saw Parvati, once again leaning forward and looking at him.

"I'm not done yet," she said. She then lifted her right foot and placed it on his small body.

Greg's world suddenly went dark. His face was planted right into the sole of her foot. He tried pushing up on it, but at his size, she must have weighed a ton. And it seemed that she felted him pushing on her foot, as she began to apply more pressure on him. At this point, his erection, which started the moment he laid his eyes on her giant feet, was now at its peak.

"Apologize to me," Parvati said, before lifting the front of her foot off of his body.

Greg lifted his head off of the floor. Though light returned to him, her foot was blocking his view of her face. "I'm sorry."

"What was that?" Parvati said in a taunting way. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that." She then broght her foot back down on him, this time pressing her big toe on his head.

This time, with his head being squeezed between the floor and her toe, Greg felt as if his head would pop like a grape being stepped on. In fact, with the increasing pressure being applied on his head, he was astonished that it did not crush under her weight. Perhaps she was holding back?

Whatever the case, Greg felt the need to appease the giant woman.

"I'M SORRY!!!" He screamed out.

Parvati giggled. "Good." She the lifted her toe from his head, and withdrew her leg.

Greg laid on the floor, catching his breath and feeling on his head with his hands. It was in pain, yet it was not deformed or flattened.

"I'm still not accepting your apology," Parvati said. "Maybe if you kiss my toes, I'll consider it."

Greg stood up, now excited again. "Of course, my Goddess." He walked to her right foot.

"'Goddess'? I like the sound of that..."

Greg began to kiss each of her toes on her right foot. They were large, the big toe coming up to his waist. Before he moved onto the left foot, he had an urge to lick her big toe, but decided against it. Parvati would surely punish him again for not doing exactly what she said. He sighed as he moved to the other foot, and began to press his lips against each of those toes.

"Have I ever said how pretty your toes are?" Greg said after kissing the last one.

"Why thank you," Parvati said, while giggling.

"Seriously." Greg moved to the front of her left foot. "Your feet are just... magnificent. And at this size, I can enjoy myself with them even more than I could when I was normal-sized! Just think of all the stuff I can do now!"

"I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself," she said as she stood up, and slipped back on her flip-flops. "How do know that I want to keep you around? In fact, maybe I want to get rid of you right now."

"Wait, what?" Greg's facial expression changed from one of astonishment to one of disappointment. "What are you talking about?"

Parvati raised her right foot over Greg's body. "There's a pretty large bug in here. It's going to leave a big mess, but I need to kill it."

Greg's heart sank. "Wait... you're not talking about me, are you?"

"If you don't want to die, you better run."

Her foot then began to descend on him. Greg could not help but marvel at the brown sole of her slipper, but he soon snapped back to reality and began to run away from her. He was able to avoid being crushed, as he heard it come down on the floor behind him. As he ran, he looked around the kitchen. Where could he take cover? And could he make it there in time? Although the kitchen itself was relatively small to a normal person, at his size, it was a vast space.

As he ran, he felt the floor shake under him. He heard the footsteps of the giant woman behind him. He looked back. She was chasing him, though she merely had to walk to keep up, while he was running as fast as he could.

He saw a shadow appear around him. He turned around, and saw her sole mere inches (on his scale) above his head. It was so close that he had no time to change directions. Her foot was soon on his body, pushing him off of his feet and face-first into the floor. Unlike before, when she was barefoot, the rubber sole of her flip-flop was much harder, and more painful. He felt her stepping down on his body harder then the last time. The pain was immense. He felt he was at his limit, that this time, he would be crushed to death under her foot. It was his ideal way to die, but for it to end so soon...

However, he found that his body did not give in to the pressure. Sure, there was pain, but, for some reason, he was not flattened. First his ribs, then his head, and now his entire body. Why did he all of a sudden become so dexterious? Then it dawned on him. Why didn't he think of it sooner? She's a witch. Perhaps she cast some kind of "anti-crush" spell on him when she shrunk him.

He felt the pressure alleviate from his body. He slowly flipped over to his back, and saw that Parvati still had her foot raised above him, though higher than last time. This time, she brought it back down on his body with force, stomping him into the floor. She lifted her foot again, and stomped him once more. She then began to twist her foot, grinding his body on the floor. At this point, he was glad that he wasn't being crushed to death, as he would have surely been reduced to a splatter of blood and guts then.

Finally, she spun around on his body, and walked off of him. Greg slowly sat up, in pain and aroused.

"So, what'd you think of that?" she asked with a smile.

"That... was... awesome!" Greg brought his fists in front of him. "I've never been dominated like that! The way you showed no mercy on me, like I actually was a bug! Amazing!"

"Glad you enjoyed it. I had fun doing it, too." She sat back in the chair. "And I'm sure you also noticed something by now."

Greg stood up. "That I wasn't squished? Did you make me uncrushable or something?"

"Of course. What fun is being stepped on if you end up dying afterwards? You won't remember it, and you won't be able to do it again. So, when I shrunk you, I increased your body's density. So you can't be crushed to death. It'll still hurt, though."

Suddenly, Greg remembered his words from the night before. ("Though I wouldn't want to die. I'd like to be able to enjoy the sensation of being dominated like that again-and-again.")

"Cool!" He did a double fist-pump.

"Oh, and you can still die from other kinds of things, so be careful, okay?"

"I will, and... wait..." Greg began to walk closer to Parvati. "What do you mean by that? Aren't you going to grow me back to normal? Because I don't think my friends would like seeing me like this."

Parvati stared at him for a few seconds, before answering him. "No. Sorry, but I like you like this. In fact, I think I'll keep you around here for a while."

Greg placed his syrup-soaked plate into the sink, along with a fork and knife. He would wash them later.

He had all of the time in the world, as there was not much else more important to do. Parvati had practically banned him from stepping foot outside of her house.

"No. Sorry, but I like you like this. In fact, I think I'll keep you around here for a while," Parvati said.

"What?" Greg's mouth dropped in disbelief. "Why?"

"This is what you wanted, right?"

"Yeah, but I DO have a life. I go to school, I have a job. You're going to put those in jeopardy for me."

"Just let me worry about those, alright?"

"How?"

"Did you forget already? I'm a witch."

"But still..."

The floor beneath Greg's feet began to shake as Parvati walked closer to him. In mere seconds, she was standing right in front of him. She croutched down and cupped her hands around him. Greg's world suddenly went dark as her hands completely engulfed him.

Then, light quickly returned as her hand uncovered him. He found himself sitting in the center of her palm, and looking up at her face, which now seemed larger than before.

"Let me tell you something," she said. "You know how I made you uncrushable, right?"

"Of course," he responded.

"Well, as soon as you step foot out of this house, all of that goes away. You'll be vulnerable out there. In fact, if I even see you go out there, I promise that I'll kill you myself."

Greg gasped. "Why?!"

"Think of it like this... If you survive long enough for someone to find you, and actually rescue you, they're going to ask how you got like this. And you'll most likely say that I did it."

"They wouldn't believe that," Greg said.

"I think they would. Especially if you already found a 3-inch tall person wandering around. Anyway, I can't let you tell anyone of my secret."

"In that case..." Greg stood to his feet, though found it hard to stand on her soft palm. "You could just deny it."

Parvati shook her head. "That still won't work. You're really trying to get out of this, aren't you? I thought that this was your dream."

"It is, but-"

"Then enjoy it!"

Parvati then began to walk. The motions of her hand caused Greg to lose his balance, and fall back on his rear as she walked through the hall way, and back into her bedroom. She walked to her bed, and placed him onto it, the bed's sheets still messy from the night before.

She then walked to her dresser and began to rummage through the drawers.

"What are you doing?" Greg asked.

"I have a few errands to run today, so I'm picking out my clothes," she answered.

"...What kind of errands?"

"Bills, groceries, stuff like that."

"Can't you just use your magic?"

"No. That's the easy way out." Parvati pulled out two articles of clothing. However, Greg could not see what they were, as her backside obscured his view. "I can't speak for all of us, but I don't like using my magic to help me with any important things or problems in my life, unless they get too serious. My magic is for recreation use only."

"Wait... there're more witches?"

"Yes. We're scattered all around the world. Of course, we have to keep our powers secret from the public." She then walked towards the bathroom. "I'll be back in a minute." She walked inside and closed the door.

"Don't know why she closed the door. It's not like I haven't seen her naked." Greg muttered to himself.

He began to look around the room. At normal size, the room itself was relatively small. Unlike his bedroom back in his apartment, there was no TV, no computer, nor a closet. There was only the bed he was sitting on, the dresser Parvati had just finished using, a cabinet that he assumed held her larger clothes, and a desk with a laptop, alarm clock, and lamp on it. Though his bedroom did not have its own bathroom, so that was a plus for her, he figured.

He heard the bathroom door reopen while he was observing the room around him. He turned back towards the doorway, and saw Parvati, wearing a blue blouse and beige capri pants. Of course, he also noticed that she was barefoot now.

"How do I look?" She asked with a smile.

"You look fantastic," he replied.

She giggled. "Yeah, I know." She walked closer to him.

"Then why'd you ask?"

"Just to hear what you thought." She knelt down to the floor and began to rummage under the bed. Seconds later, she rose back up, holding two different kinds of sandals in each hand. "Which one of these do you like best?"

"Umm..." Greg examined each one. In her left hand was a blue flip-flop, made of leather. The strap seemed to have diamonds or some other kind of fake jewelry lined across it. In her other hand was a brown sandal with two leather straps, one that goes over the base of the foot, and the other over the big toe. Having already seen her in flip-flops, Greg's decision was clear.

"I like the brown one best," he responded.

"Really? So do I... just by a little." Parvati knelt down and placed both sandals on the floor.

As she rose, Greg walked to the bed's edge and looked down towards the floor. He watched as she slid her right foot into the right sandal, her toes flexing as they pulled the entire foot into the shoe. He almost lost himself at the sight. Once she was finished, she did the same with her left foot and left sandal. Afterwards, she slid the pair of leather flip-flops back under her bed with her foot.

"Did you enjoy that?" Parvati said with a smile.

"You were watching?" Greg asked.

"Yes. Just don't splurge in my room, okay?" She winked.

"...Sure..."

Parvati reached down and stroked his cheek. He flinched at the sudden sensation of her large finger rubbing on his diminutive face.

"You're too cute. I'll be back in a few hours." She walked away from the bed, and, in the process, grabbed her purse that was hanging from one of the footposts.

"...Can I come?" Greg asked just as she was leaving the room.

Parvati laughed. "Of course not."

With that, she was out of the room and out of Greg's sight. He heard the house's door open, and then shut.

"...Damn."

~~~

Greg rose up from the large bed. He had been laying there for an hour and a half, replaying that morning's events in his mind over and over again. Being stepped on by a very attractive woman was something that he had wished for since adolescence, and this woman had not only granted his wish, but allowed him to be able to enjoy that strange yet arousing feeling again and again.

He stood to his feet, and walked to the bed's edge. He had grown bored with waiting for Parvati to return, so he decided to explore the house. Luckily for him, it was a one-story house, so there were no stairs for him to worry about.

Using the bedsheets as a sort of slide to guide him, he slid down to the floor. Once both of his feet landed, he ran towards the bathroom. He had no idea why he was going in there. He was just going where his feet were currently taking him at the moment.

Despite being a small room, it took him several minutes to reach the bathroom. Once inside, he looked around. It was the same as it was when he was much larger. Except that there was a large white bathrobe laying on the floor; the same one she was wearing earlier. Greg walked closer to it, and found her brown flip-flops, with an imprint of her feet in them, suggesting that she had had them for a while. As he gazed at them, he pictured her feet resting in the slippers. At normal size, he did this all of the time when he happened to be in a woman's section at a shoe store; if he happened to find a nice pair of sandals, he would mentally put them on the feet of a woman he considered attractive.

He snapped back to reality soon after, and made his way out of the bathroom. As he left, he found it surprising that she had just left her bathrobe and flip-flops laying in the middle of the floor. He never thought that she could be so messy.

After leaving the bathroom, Greg walked out of the bedroom and into the main hall. Across the hall, he could see a closed door at the end. He had noticed it earlier, and now at his size, he was tempted to go inside. However, he decided against it. As she was a witch, she could have had some super-secret experiment inside, and if he was caught inside, she would most likely punish him in the same way she would if he left this house.

Outside... She said that she would kill him if he left the house, but he was sure that she was just referring to him trying to contact someone on the outside. Either that, or she was joking. Was she even the kind to kill another human being? She was a witch, so who knows what kind of stuff she has done before with her magic?

Greg found himself back in the kitchen, where his earlier exploit had taken place. As he walked through the area, he wished that he had a camera set up in the room, so that he could have recorded himself being trampled on by Parvati, and watch it over and over again. Of course, he would have to hide it from his friends. He was never open about his fetishes with even his close friends or family.

But a video like that could make him quite a bit of money on the Internet, where fetishes of all kinds run rampant. He could just call Parvati's magic "advanced special effects and green screen recording." It would be ground-breaking for the GTS community.

Soon, he was out of the kitchen, and in the main hallway. Across the hall was the living room. He could see a glass table in the middle of the room, and two white couches on two of the sides of the table, as well as a television. The floor was also covered with a white carpet.

To his left was the front door, the way outside. He pondered over which direction to go: the door or the living room. After nearly a minute, he made his choice: the front door.

As he walked towards it, he wondered if he was making a grave mistake. However, he wanted to see what the outside world was like at his size. Plus, he had decided to not call on anyone else for help and just make the best of his current situation. He knew that this opportunity doesn't even happen to most people, so he was going to enjoy it for as long as he could. So, he planned to go out for a few minutes, get some fresh air, and come right back in. Parvati would never know that he was out there.

He was now standing in front of the door. How would he even be able to get out of here? He looked at the bottom of the door. There seemed to be a small space underneath. Perhaps he could squeeze through? Only one way to find out.

Greg laid down on the floor and began to crawl underneath the door. It was a very tight squeeze. So tight, that he thought that he would end up stuck there, and would have to wait for Parvati to return to free him.

Eventually, he made it through. He pulled his legs out from under the door, and was now standing outside of the house. He looked around him. The front lawn was in good condition, well-kept, though he could not imagine her mowing the lawn, and she said that she only uses her magic for "recreation."

Now that it was light out, Greg could see that the neighborhood looked to be a typical suburban one, though Parvati's house seemed to be the only one-story home on the street. Though at his size, he could not see too many of the houses. Speaking of the neighborhood, there did not seem to be anyone outside, despite it being near noon.

Greg walked further away from the door. Was he taking too big a risk? What if one of the neighbors happened to see him? That would surely cause a ruckus, one that Parvati would not be too pleased to see.

He decided that he had been out there for long enough and decided to make his way back inside. He turned around and walked back towards the door. However, upon reaching it, he discovered that, on this side, the door's bottom was covered by a kind of covering, one designed to keep pests out. Greg found himself unable to make his way under it.

He began to panic. He was screwed. There was no way he could get in the house through the way he came out, so he would have to find another way in. Just as he was about to search for another entrance, he heard a car pull up. He cringed at the sound of the car's engine being turned off, and turned around to see a black car in the driveway. The driver's door opened, and revealed a light-skinned leg, and its foot clad in the sandal he had picked out earlier.

"Shit." It was over. She was back, a bit sooner than she said before.

He tried to run as he heard the car door close. However, right before he could reach the grass, he was overcome by the shadow of his giant mistress. He turned around, and saw her large feet mere inches (Parvati's scale) from him. He slowly looked up, and saw her staring back down on him, with a look of displeasure of her face.

"Parvati!" Greg fell to his knees. "I can explain!"

"Zip it," she sternly responded. "I told you what would happen if I found you out here, and it's time that I made good on my promise."

"Please, noooo!!!"

"Good-bye, Greg." Parvati then stepped forward with her right foot, completely engulfing Greg with its shadow.

Greg tried to run, but her sole was too close above him for him to make any decent headway. He was pushed face-first into the concrete ground as her foot came down on him. He screamed as he felt the pressure increase. At that moment, he was certain that he would die. Though it was his most desired way to die, he did not expect it to happen so soon.

He should have gone to the living room instead...

...However, he found that his body was still intact, despite the immense pressure being applied onto his tiny body. Much like earlier that morning. Was he still... uncrushable? Was she bluffing after all?

After a minute of being squeezed between the hard concrete ground and her foot, Greg felt the pressure lighten up, and her foot lift from his body. He flipped his aching body over, and saw Parvati's face, only this time, it was smiling.

"I gave you quite a scare, didn't I?" she said, followed by a short laugh.

"...You... tricked me..." Greg said, breathing heavily.

"Yes, I did." She reached down and picked him up, and held him in her open palm. "But consider that a warning. Next time, it'll be the real deal. Got it?"

Greg nodded.

"Good. Now, let's get you cleaned up." She opened the door and walked inside.

~~~

An hour later, Greg stood before a doll house. This doll house looked like a miniature version of Parvati's house. The amount of detail that went into it was remarkable.

"This is where you'll be living," Parvati said, who was sitting on the floor besides him. "Neat, huh?"

"It sure is," Greg responded.

"It has running water, electricity, food, and clothes. I've even added some books and a television in there for you, complete with over 100 channels of cable TV."

"Wow... Seriously?" Greg was astonished. "That's great! Thank you!"

"No problem." She smiled at him. "Just don't spend too much time on the couch. I might want to play with you again."

"Of course." He gave a smile of his own.

Parvati reached for his face again, and stroked his cheek with her finger. "Well, you get settled in, and I'll check up on you later."

"Yep." Greg blushed at the sensation of her finger.

After pushing the doll house under her bed, past the pairs of sandals she had underneath, she stood and walked out of the room.

Greg walked under the bed and towards his doll house. He reached the door and grabbed the knob.

"...My new home..."

He pushed the door open and walked inside.

Greg, now dressed in a grey T-shirt, black jeans, and black sneakers, walked out of his dollhouse, and closed the door behind him.

It was time for his daily walk, one he has taken every morning since he had been confined in Parvati's house.

As he made his way into the hall way, he saw the closed door that stood at the end. As he looked towards it, he thought of what happened during the week after he was given his new home.

Greg heard talking from the kitchen as he neared his way towards its passage. It was Tuesday morning, and he expected to have the house to himself for half of the day. At least, that's how it was the day before.

Yet, here it was, nearly 11 in the morning, and Parvati was still here. Wait... Not only Parvati, but what sounded like another voice. Greg curiously snuck closer to the passage, stopping at the edge of the door to eavesdrop on the conversation of the two people inside.

"...So, as you can see, my mom still can't accept that I'm a witch," a female voice said.

"I see... What a shame," said Parvati. "We don't choose to inherit our powers. They choose us. When will your mother learn that?"

"I don't know... She actually seems kinda afraid of me now. She doesn't seem to want me around Lucas and Anna."

"But they're your brother and sister!"

"She thinks that I'll infect them."

He heard Parvati sigh. "What, does she think that we have some kind of contagious disease?"

"Well, she is a religious person. VERY religious."

"I guess. My family is religious, too, but they were willing to accept what I became."

"Yeah... But that's enough about that. What's been up with you while I was gone?"

Parvati giggled. "Oh, nothing..."

There was a short pause. "What's so funny?"

"Just... watch your step, alright?"

"...I don't get it."

"You'll find out soon enough."

"...A pet mouse or something?"

"No. If I had a mouse, I wouldn't let it roam around the house like that." She giggled again. "But you COULD say that I have a pet..."

"...You're as cryptic as always. I'm going to go change."

Greg heard footsteps approaching him, and soon saw a large white sneaker, mere inches away from him, walk through the doorway and turn left. As he scanned upward at the woman, he saw that she wore blue jeans, a white T-shirt, had her short red hair tied in a ponytail, and carried a suitcase. He never saw her face, as, mere seconds later, she opened the door at the end of the hallway, and disappeared behind the closing door.

As he stared at the door for a few seconds, he was slightly disappointed that her choice of shoes. "Too hot to hide 'em," he said to himself as he began to make his way for the kitchen passageway.

"Ah! Speak of the devil!" Parvati said as she noticed him walking inside. "Good morning, my pet!"

Greg walked closer to the kitchen table that she was sitting at. At his size, he could not see much of what she was wearing from the waist up, but he did see that she was wearing blue capris and that her right leg was crossed over the left. Her right foot was bare, it's brown flip-flop sandal laying besides its partner adorning her left foot.

"Now that's more like it," Greg said to himself as he neared the table.

"You're taking too long," Parvati said.

"Well, I can only move so fast at this size," Greg responded.

"Ah, true..."

Suddenly, Greg felt a large push on his back, lifting him an inch or so off of the floor. Confused, he looked from side-to-side as he founf himself being carried closer to the giant woman by a mysterious force.

Whatever it was, it dropped him at the tip of Parvati's slippers. He picked himself off of the floor, and looked upward, beyond the massive legs and at the face of the woman looking down at him.

"What was that?" Greg asked, confused.

"Oh, just me giving you a little shove," she responded with a smile.

Greg laughed a little. "Of course." He turned his head back towards the kitchen's passageway. "So, who was that girl?"

"Oh, that was Trish, my roommate."

He turned back to Parvati's face. "Roommate? I thought you lived alone."

"No... Didn't you go in her room when I left you alone?"

"...I was afraid that you was keeping something in there, and you'd punish me if I got too nosy."

"Oh." Parvati laughed, and slipped her left foot out of its slipper, and stuck its big toe in Greg's face. "I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Greg moved his head back slightly as the massive toe came closer to his face. "Maybe." He felt his pants tightening.

Parvati smiled, and pulled the foot from his face, and pulled it closer to her. She then crossed both of her legs, and sat Indian-style on the chair.

"Hey..." Greg said, with slight disappointment.

"What's wrong? You want my feet?"

"Kinda." Greg was being modest.

"Well, not now. I think I'm going to have you work for them."

"...What do you mean?"

Parvati stuck up her right index finger, and swirled it around. While doing so, a circle of light briefly appeared above the tip. Greg then noticed light particles gathering at his feet. He looked down, and saw that the particles were taking a physical form. In seconds, the mass appeared to be a kind of polaroid camera.

He stared at the camera for a few seconds, and then looked back up at Parvati's face. "What's this for?"

"Since you like feet so much," Parvati answered, "I want you to take a picture of Trish's."

"Wait, what?!" Greg could not believe what he heard.

"You heard me. Find an opportunity, and SNAP!!"

Greg stared at her for a few seconds, and then knelt down and picked up the camera. "And you'll let me play with your feet if I do this?"

"Of course. I always keep my word."

"Then, you're on!" Greg stood back up. "This shouldn't be too hard."

Parvati started to giggle.

"...What?"

"You don't know Trish."

"...What does that have to do with anything?"

"Why don't you just lurk around for a while before you make your move. Okay, cutie?"

"Sure."

"Good boy." Parvati brought her legs down, and slipped her feet back into their flip-flops. She then stood up, and pushed her chair into the table. Greg could finally see the somewhat tight, brown t-shirt she wore. "I'm going to work now."

"Oh yeah!" Greg said. "Why didn't you leave earlier?"

"I don't have to be in until 11:30 today, so I had some time to see you two before I left." Parvati smiled. "See ya. And don't worry about not being able to get the shot today. You have all week." With that, she walked out of the kitchen, through the other passageway into the main hall, and out of the house, as he heard the front door open, and then close with a thud.

Greg looked at the camera he held in his hands, and then towards the passageway to the back hall.

"Time for some reconnaissance."

~~~

Greg sat in the single potted plant in the kitchen, having climbed into it an hour before. The droopy leaves made for a great hiding place for him to wait for Trish to walk into the kitchen, and he enjoyed the feeling of the cold, slightly moist soil.

An hour... Even though she said that she was going to change her clothes, Trish had not emerged from her room since. At first, he believed that she would come into the kitchen minutes after Parvati left, but now, it seemed less likely that she would be coming anytime soon.

As he waited there, he wondered what her feet looked like, and if she painted her toenails. If so, he wondered why she'd hide them from the world outside. That was something he never understood; why girls, cute ones, painted their toenails, but wore sneakers, boots, or some other kind of closed-toe shoe.

He was snapped back to reality as he heard a door open. He heard approaching footsteps comng from the back hall. He quickly stood up and ran to the plant's edge, aiming the lens between the spaces of the leaves. She was coming, and as soon as she walked in, he would take the shot of her feet, and proudly show it to Parvati once she arrived home.

However, when she did walk in, Greg saw that she was wearing white socks. He moved the camera away from his face, and watched the giant woman, now dressed in a blue T-shirt and white shorts, walk to the refrigerator. As she passed, he at least got a good look at her face. She was a rather attractive lass.

Trish had opened the refrigerator, and pulled out a carton of orange juice. After closing its door, she stood upright, opened the carton, and began to chug the beverage right from the container. Greg watched her throat bobbed as she downed the carton's entire contents without so much as taking a breath. When finished, she let out a burp, crumbled up the empty carton, and tossed it into the trash bin.

Greg's mouth was wide open in disbelief after witnessing this. "No way... That thing had to at least been half full..." After closing his mouth, he looked down at his camera, and then at her sock-covered feet. Suddenly, he had a thought.

"She never said that they had to be bare."

He brought the camera back to his face, and waited for a clear shot of her feet. He did not have to wait long, as she walked back towards the back hall, he saw his opening, and snapped the picture of her peds that he was looking for. The picture was then reeled out of the camera, its image grey and barren, but, in time, would form into the shot that he had just taken.

He waited a few minutes after she disappeared in the back hall, and hearing her bedroom door close, before climbing out of the plant, running back towards that same hall, and then back into Parvati's bedroom.

"I hope this works."

~~~

"No." Parvati held the enlarged photo in her hand as she sat on her bed, with her legs crossed underneath her. "Sorry, but this isn't it."

"You told me to take a picture of her feet," Greg said. "And you made it sound like it was hard. That wasn't so hard."

Parvati looked away from the photo, and towards Greg on the floor below her.

"I thought that you, as a foot fetishist, would understand that I wanted you to take a shot of her bare feet."

Greg clinched his fist. "I knew it!"

Parvati opened the palm of the hand that held the photo. The photo began to float above the open palm, before it was then burned by an invisible force.

"Listen," she said, leaning closer to the edge of her bed. "Trish is a tomboy."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. I've roomed with her for nearly a year now, and during that time, I rarely ever saw her walk around without socks or shoes on."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So, what do I do now?"

Parvati laughed. "Whatever you can to get that shot you need. Or else."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "'Or else' what?"

"Full foot embargo." She stuck her tounge out at him.

"Besides that."

She got a mischevious look on her face. "...I'll squish you. With a book." She laughed.

"What?!" Greg dropped his mouth. "Just because I can't get a picture of Trish's feet?! Why do you have to kill me for that?!"

Parvati sighed. "Calm down. I was only joking."

"...Sorry..."

Parvati laid down on her bed. "Oh, and when I'm sleep, don't sneak up on my bed and mess with my feet. You saw what I did with that photo just now."

"...Man."

~~~

The next morning, Greg pulled on a white t-shirt, black sweatpants, and black sneakers, and ran out of his doll house, holding the polaroid camera in both hands. Parvati was gone, having left for work at her usual time of 8am. He ran out of her room, and into the hallway. He noticed that Trish's bedroom door was open. He ran towards it, and upon reaching it minutes later, he peered inside. It looked identical to Parvati's room, except that it had a desktop computer set up in the corner, and that it was quite a bit messier, with clothes strewn all over the floor. The woman of the room, however, was not inside.

He walked away from the room, and then made his way for the kitchen. Just as he glanced inside as he passed it the first time it was empty. He walked alongside the wall, and made his way towards the main hall. As he neared it, he heard laughter from the room beyond the hall. Greg readied his camera, and sprinted across the hall, into the living room.

Trish was inside, laying on the couch and watching a program on television. From his position, Greg could see the back of her head, her bare legs, and her socks. He let out a sigh.

Parvati did say that she almost always walked arounds in socks, and Greg realized how hard this task would be unless he thought of something else.

He looked down at his camera as he walked back to Parvati's room. Upon reaching the back hall, he looked towards his left, towards Trish's open door. Suddenly, he had a thought. He'd probably get into trouble with both women in the house, but it was his only shot at completing his task.

He sprinted towards the open door, and soon found himself inside of Trish's messy room. He looked around for a hiding place. Under her bed? No, as messy as the room was, if she looked under the bed, he was screwed. The cabinet to his right? Perhaps, though he was not sure if he was small enough to fit in the space between it and the wall.

He looked off towards the desktop computer, and the desk it was set up on against the far wall. He made his decision. He ran across the room, running on and around clothes as if they were hills, towards the desk. It took him several minutes to sprint the distance, and he was worried that Trish would return in that time. Luckily, she was nowhere near the room, and he managed to reach the desk.

He walked towards the back wall. There was quite a bit of room for him, though the massive power cords proved to be a problem. He took a deep breath, and walked inside of the space, staying away from the cords. There, he sat down, and waited.

He was wrong. The door wasn't closed. Or rather, not completely. Greg squeezed himself inside of the room through the opening.

Trish's room. Just as messy as it was when he had first journeyed in. Actually, as he looked around, it seemed to be a bit messier.

Greg had been waiting there for hours, as evident from the digital clock that hung on the wall. In that time, Trish had come into the room several times. During the last of which, she pulled on her white sneakers and left the house, as evident by the heavy slam of the front door.

Speaking of time, it was well past 6pm. He imagined that Parvati had long since arrived home. Was she looking for him? Should he give up for now and see her? He did not see why he should, as she wouldn't let him play with her feet anyway. Sure, she was very attractive, but he loved that being so small made him closer than ever to her feet, something he could never experience if he was his normal size.

Besides, he figured that if Parvati wanted him, she could have just opened up some kind of black hole underneath him. He did not doubt that she could do that.

He clutched the camera in his hands, and waited longer.

He had urges to go to the bathroom, and he was starting to become hungry. The mental images of just the frozen pizza rolls he had at his dollhouse caused his stomach to growl.

Yet, he made a commitment. He would wait here, all night if he had to, just so he could get the shot he needed.

His endurance so far amazed even him.

~~~

Greg awoke to the sound of a door closing. He wiped the grogginess out of his eyes, and stood up. Trish had returned, kicking off her shoes and pulling off her T-shirt, though she wore a blue sports bra underneath.

He watched as she walked into her bathroom, leaving the door open. Greg was tempted to made a dash for the doorway. Though he fought the urge. He doubt that he would be able to get the shot he needed anyway.

He sat back down and waited for her to come back out of the bathroom. He looked at the clock. 7:13pm.

He waited there for ten minutes before she did. He watched as she made her way for her bed, and pulled out a magazine from under it. As she stood upright, he was relieved that he hadn't chosen to hide under the bed. Trish flipped open the magazine, and Greg squinted to make out the cover. It was... Playboy? He chuckled in brief disbelief as she jumped on her bed, and laid down, still in her bra, black shorts, and, of course, white socks.

Not long afterwards, there were a few knocks at the door. It apparently took Trish by surprise, as she gasped and hid the magazine under her pillow, just as the door opened, and Parvati walked in. She wore a red sleeveless shirt, and white pants. Though Greg was disappointed that the piles of clothes made it impossible for him to see her feet.

"Good lord, it's as messy as ever in here!" Parvati said in astonishment.

"I told you, I'll get to cleaning this room up," Trish responded.

"Yeah... right. Of course you will."

"So, you need something? Other than to remind me of this mess?"

"Nothing really..." Parvati then sat on the foot of Trish's bed. "Well, actually, I want to know if you found out what I was talking about yesterday."

"About what?"

"You know... My pet..."

"Oh. ...Why don't you just tell me?!"

"That's no fun. I have no doubts that you'll see him soon enough. Or maybe even step on him."

"...If I killed him, you'd be furious."

"Don't worry about that."

"Why wouldn't I worry? I wouldn't want to be responsible for his death, and you wasting... How much did you pay for him?"

"What makes you think I paid? For all you know, I could have gotten him for free."

"You used your magic."

"Perhaps... Either way, you can't kill him by crushing him."

"...What the hell kind of pet did you get?"

Parvati laughed. "Not telling."

Greg saw Trish jab Parvati with her left foot.

"YOU'RE no fun, Par," Trish said.

There was a short pause.

"Did you clip your toenails?" Parvati suddenly asked.

Trish laughed. "Yeah, just now."

Greg could not believe what he heard. He had his opportunity, and it slipped through his fingers. He knew that he should have made a run for the bathroom.

"Good." Parvati said. "At least now you don't have bird talons for nails." She laughed.

"Oh, stop overexaggerating!" Trish jabbed Parvati again.

"Now I don't have to be embarrassed when we go to the beach."

"My nails weren't that bad..."

"Then you and I differ greatly on the definition of 'bad', missy!" Parvati stood up as Trish made a pouty noise.

"I think all of the pedicures you've gotten have made you some kind of nail elitist. Since when did you care so much about my feet, anyway?!"

"I don't, really. My little friend, though..."

Trish's interest was pipqued. "...What?"

"Oops! I've said too much! I'm outta here!" With that Parvati made her way for the door. "I have to type up this proposal."

"Yeah, get outta here," Trish playfully said. "And close the door when you leave."

"Of course, your majesty." Parvati bowed as she walked backwards out of the door, and pulled it closed.

Greg watched as Trish rested on the bed for a few minutes. He found it odd that she hadn't pulled out the Playboy magazine she had earlier. Was she waiting until she was absolutely sure that Parvati was gone, before she went for it again?

"Wait a minute..." Trish said to herself. "...That sly fox... She gave me a clue."

Suddenly, Trish sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. She looked around her room, as if she was searching for something. ...Was it him? Did she think that Parvati's pet... that he was in here? Of course, Greg was inside, but what would happen if she discovered him?

Trish then reached down and pulled her left foot to her face. Greg watched as she took a sniff from the sole of her socked foot, and recoiled slightly.

"One bad thing about the gym, I guess," she said.

She moved the foot away from her face, but still had the leg crossed over her other leg. She then reached for the top of the sock, and began to pull it downward. With this, Greg became excited. The young woman whom Parvati said was barely ever without socks was removing them right here and now.

As she pulled the sock further from her foot, Greg saw more of her bare foot revealed to him. Her heel, her instep and arch, and finally, her toes as she pulled the sock completely off. She wiggled them as she threw the sock onto one of the piles of clothing.

She switched her legs' positions, and pulled the sock from her other foot. She then threw the sock onto the same pile as its companion.

Greg was astonished. There she was, Trish and her bare feet. He readied his camera, and brought it to his face. He was prepared for the photo he needed.

"Gotcha." Greg pressed the button, and the flash went off.

He finally had his shot. The polaroid photo reeled out of the camera. Its image grey, but it would soon reveal what he had just seen.

Now, he just had to find his way out of the room, and-

"What was that?"

Greg gasped as Trish stood up, and walked towards him. Had she seen him? He should have realized that the flash of the camera would have given him away. As Trish made her way closer, Greg turned around and tried to climb over the massive cords that were in his way.

He did not make it far, as massive fingers wrapped around him, and pulled him away from the cords. He was then lifted far off the floor, and was soon staring at the massive face of the red-headed woman, and her deep blue eyes. She had a shocked expression on her face.

"Oh... my... god..." Trish said.

"Hi there," Greg said.

"This is what she was talking about? You?"

"Yeah, I guess. By the way, my name is Greg."

"Greg, huh? What were you doing in here? Don't you know that you shouldn't trespass on other people's property?"

"...It's a secret."

"Oh, not you, too." Trish sighed. "I get enough of that from Par as it is."

"Yeah, well, I don't think I can tell you."

"...Why do you have a camera?"

"Uh..."

"I saw it flash a minute ago. Were you taking a picture of me in my bra, you pervert?"

"...Don't you have a Playboy magazine under your pillow?"

"Don't change the subject! I think I know what you took a picture of. That clue was right on. It lured you out."

Greg chuckled. "So, alright. I took a picture of your feet."

"Foot fetishist," she teased.

"So?"

"Did Par make you tiny just so that you could have more foot to play with?"

"Yeah."

"I see..."

Greg saw that he was being moved away from her face. He then saw her kneel down, and then drop him onto the floor. She then stood upright. He looked to the right and left, and saw her massive feet on both sides. He then looked up. Her face, which seemed far away was looking down on him.

"Par says you can't die if I crush you," Trish said, "so let's test that."

Trish lifted her left foot over Greg. Greg's pants tightened at the sight of her bare sole hanging over him. Of course, he already knew that Parvati had made him uncrushable, so he did not move. Her foot then lowered onto his body, pushing him onto the floor. His face was buried into the ball of her foot, and while he loved this, one thing he did not enjoy was the pungent odor.

He felt the pressure on his body increase by the ton, and then felt the foot twist and grind on his body, before Trish finally removed it from his body. Despite the pain, and his clothes now being a bit moist, Greg stood to his feet, in complete satisfaction.

"She was right..." Trish said, amazed.

"Well, of course she was," Greg said. "She doesn't think that me dying because of my kink would be any fun."

"Is that so? How did you meet her, anyway?"

"Well..." Greg explained how he met Parvati at the Las Auroras clubs, their one-night stand, and the morning after.

"Ha! So she trapped you in here!" Trish said.

"Yeah, but I don't mind. I have plenty of entertainment."

"Yeah, I bet you do, you little runt."

"Funny. Anyway, I'll be going now. I got what I needed."

"You make it sound like you were using me."

"No, it's not-"

"Nah, it's okay. I'll get you back later. Now, go. Get outta here." Trish walked to the door, and opened it.

Greg began to walk towards the door, once again manuvering around the hills of clothes. He looked as Trish watched him make his way for the doorway. She seemed to have a bit of a mischievous look on her face.

After passing the final hill, he was now in a straightway path for the doorway. As he was walking, he saw Trish began to walk as well... towards him. He braced himself as she stepped on him, once again pushing him onto the floor underneath her sole, and just as quickly stepping off of him. He sat up and turned around, and saw Trish sit on her bed.

"I think I'm going to have some fun with you," she said with a sly smile. "I'm not going to let Par hog you all for herself."

Greg smiled back, and stood up. He then continued his way out of the room.

As soon as he made it out of the room, the door closed behind him. Though he did not hear Trish walk to the door.

"Magic," he concluded.

He looked down at the polaroid camera in his hands. He found it amazing that it was not crushed under Trish's foot. He then pulled out the picture he took. It was a bit far away, but sure enough, it was a photo of Trish's bare right foot, crossed over her left knee.

~~~

"You did it!" Parvati said as she looked at the enarged photo in her hand.

She was sitting at her desk, with her laptop open. As she said earlier, she was typing up a paper. Greg looked under the desk, and saw the bare soles of her feet.

"It took less time than I though," she said. "And to think that she just took her socks off right there..."

"Well, she did say that you gave her a clue," Greg said.

"Is that so? Well, I was trying to be subtle, but I guess I DID say too much..."

"Well, if you hadn't I'd've been sitting in there all week."

"True. So, I guess you want your reward, huh? I think you're going to love it."

Greg became excited. "What is it?!"

"Walk under the desk."

Greg did so, walking past the wheels of the chair. He then saw a pair of red flip-flops.

"Lay down on one of my flip-flops," she ordered.

Greg chose the right one, and laid himself onto the giant slipper. "Done!"

"Good."

He then saw her right sole move towards him, and lower itself onto his body, pressing its flesh into his face. In that instant, he forgot all about his hunger and bladder.

As her big toe rubbed over his face, he decided to take a sniff.

It smelled like berries.

It took him several minutes, but Greg had finally reached the top of Trish's bed, having climbed the bedsheets that reached down to the floor. As expected, her bed was just as messy as the rest of the room.

He had actually become very accustomed to this room. After all, what Trish said during their first encounter, about her not wanting Parvati to "hog" him, turned out to be true.

Greg sat on the edge of the coffee table in the living room, facing the television and holding a game controller in his hands. Trish sat on the couch behind him, holding the same kind of controller, except that, of course, her's was much larger. The two were playing an arcade-style fighting video game, featuring anthropomorphic animals, called Feral Fighters X.

"Hey, Runt," Trish called. "You're getting good at this game."

"Well," Greg said, keeping his eyes on the television, "when you keep forcing me to play this game with you, it's bound to happ- Oh, dammit!"

Greg became a bit more frantic with his controller, but could not help but watch as his character, a lion, get hit with a 5-hit combo by Trish's rabbit character, and then finished with an uppercut strike. Afterwards, the letters "KO" flashed on the screen.

Trish laughed. "Not good enough! But at least you're better than Par. She can't even beat me with Nirvana."

Greg quickly turned behind him, towards Trish. "The cheap rooster with the instant kill move?!"

"Yep! What can I say? She sucks at this."

Greg stood from the table's edge, and walked across the table, towards Trish.

"What's wrong?" Trish asked. "Don't you still want to play?"

"No!" Greg responded. "Don't you have any good games? Like Halo or Gears of War or something?"

"No. Sorry." Trish placed her controller beside her.

"Can't you just whip them up with your magic?"

"Yeah, I could... But I don't wanna."

"Man..." Greg sighed in disappointment.

Trish looked at her wristwatch. "Anyway, Par should be coming home in a few minutes. I'm sure you'll be wanting to go pleasure yourself with her feet."

Greg blushed. "I wouldn't say that..."

"Alright, then. How would YOU describe it?"

"It's just a turn-on, I guess."

"Yeah, right. I bet you're thinking of mine's right now. ...Well, too bad. I won't be entertaining you like that anymore."

"Hmph." This was nothing new to Greg. In truth, after their first meeting, Trish had found other ways to keep herself busy with him. That said, while she had said that she would not fulfill Greg's latent fantasies before, she still would occasionally rub her feet against his body, although she was always wearing socks when she did it. Either way, Greg knew that this was an empty threat.

"Sure you won't," Greg sarcastically said.

~~~

Fifteen minutes later, Parvati had since arrived to the house. Greg stood on her bed, who was sitting beside him and patting him on the head as if he was some kind of small animal. He wished that he could have seen her feet as he was being carried into the room, but Trish had deliberately blocked his site while she was bringing him inside.

"So," Parvati said, "you two have been bonding while I'm at work, huh?"

"Yeah!" said Trish, who was standing across from her. "I mean, aside from his kink, he's not so bad. He can at least give me a decent fight in Feral Fighters."

"That game with the animals?"

"Yes, the very!"

Parvati turned towards Greg, looking down at him. "Did you beat her?"

"Hell no!" Greg responded, a bit aggrivated. "That stupid rabbit she plays always does this cheap combo. It ALWAYS gets me."

Parvati laughed. "Yeah. I hate that, too."

"You both just suck," Trish said. "That combo is actually pretty easy to counter once you know what you're doing."

Parvati giggled. "Oh well... So, Trish... When are you going to go find a job?"

Trish sighed. "Not this again. I told you, I'm working on it."

"Yes... as you were 3 months ago."

"I don't see why I need one. I can easily make my half of the rent."

"Listen. You shouldn't use your magic as a shortcut in life, especially if you use it to create money."

"Yeah, yeah, I know... You've told me a million times already."

"Haven't you had a job before," Greg asked. "I mean, you're like, what, 20-something?"

"Yeah, I had a job, but I lost it when the company went bankrupt. Plus, with the way the economy is now, finding one isn't as easy as it was a while ago. Oh, and I'm 21."

"Why don't you use your magic to make someone lose their job?" Greg suggested. "Or to open up a position or something-"

Greg suddenly felt himself being pushed into the matress of the bed by Parvati's hand. His world now dark, he tried to struggle to free himself, but the weight that she was applying this body was too great for him to move. Not that he could move her hand even if it was exerting the lightest force, not in his current state. He could still hear the conversation, though it was now a bit muffled due to the flesh that engulfed his head.

"Don't listen to him," Parvati said. "Tomorrow, I want you out there looking for a job. I'm serious."

"...Fine..." Trish said in a defeated tone.

"And no magic, either."

"I know. I was a normal human way longer than I was a witch. I know the ins and outs of job searching."

"Good. I guess my little pet here is just going to have to find something else to do tomorrow. ...And the rest of the week."

"What?! C'mon..."

"I mean it," Parvati sternly said.

At this point, Greg gave up with his flailing, and chose to just lay under her hand, barely moving at all, until it would move off of him.

"...You're starting to sound like my mother..." Trish said.

"Well, you need someone to give you that nagging push." Parvati giggled.

"I don't want it to be you. You're my friend."

"It's because I AM your friend. If not me, then who?"

"...Lily?"

"No. Anyone but that harlot." Greg could have sworn that he heard a bit of malice in her voice.

"Right... You and her don't exactly get along."

"Isn't that the understatement of the year!"

"...I wish you two could just work this mess out. Us three used to be so tight..."

"Well, too bad, because that's never going to happen. EVER."

Greg's interest was heightened. Who was this "Lily" person, and why did Parvati have so much hatred for her? He did not think that she would be the kind of person who would hate anybody. He wanted to ask who this woman was, but he was afraid of what Parvati would do to him if he did. Whatever transgression she did to her may be a scar that she may not want opened.

Trish sighed. "Anyway, I guess I'll be going now. I bet that the Runt wants to lick on your toes already." She chuckled.

"Is that right?" Parvati laughed as well, her somewhat bitter mood seemingly have passed. "I guess I'll deal with him right now, then."

"Cool." Greg heard a few footsteps. "I'll probably be back for him later, though." After more footsteps, he heard the sound of the door closing.

A few seconds after that, he felt the weight on his body lift off of him, and light return to his vision. He stood up, and looked up at the giantess that sat besides him. She was looking back at him, with a bit of a serious look on her face.

"Listen," she said. "You have no idea what kind of rules the head witches have given us. You could have gotten Trish in trouble."

"'Head witches'?" Greg said. "There's an organization?"

"Yes. We need something, or someone, to regulate how we use our magic." Parvati grabbed Greg with her left hand, and held him in her palm in front of her. "Throughout our history, many witches have used their powers for evil. Some even going as far as genocide. So, three witches, three powerful witches, made a pact with Karma, the Supreme Ruler."

"Wait, Karma?" Greg asked. "I thought that that was just a religious concept."

"Yes, it is... But it's also the name of the deity that decides who are born with our powers. Anyway, those three witches made the pact with him, and gave up their mortal lives to govern us."

"I see... So they are watching you right now?"

"Maybe. The truth is, they can't see everything at once, but when they do, and if you... we happen to be doing something bad with our powers, you can bet that they'll react! What you suggested Trish do would have gotten her in serious trouble if they were watching while Trish did it."

"Really? Why?"

Parvati sighed. "Well... We cannot use our powers to harm humans, or to inconvience them in any way."

"...Or?"

"If we do... Well, at the least, we'd be stripped of our powers. At the worse, we'd not only have our powers taken, but we'd also be sent to the Void."

Greg jumped. "What the?! What is that?!"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. Anyway, Trish is my friend, and I don't want her to go through all of that. I've already lost a few friends to the witch's justice system..."

"Oh... Wait a minute... You shrunk me. Wouldn't that count as an inconvience?"

"Well, yes. Normally, it would. But you were, more-or-less, a willing participant, so it's okay. Plus, I needed, and still need, you to keep your mouth shut about my secret, so that's one reason why you're not allowed outside. Also, my threat still stands, because when I shrunk you, and because you were a willing participant, you effectively became my property in the head witches' eyes, and I can do whatever I want with you."

"I see..." The thought of actually belonging to this giant woman turned Greg on.

Parvati sighed. "To be frank, Trish is already treading a thin line. She uses her magic to make money whenever she needs it. The head witches have said that it's okay for us to create money when we are in dire need of it, but what Trish is doing is just plain laziness. If she doesn't stop, she may be reprimanded."

Greg almost lost his footing as the flesh below him started to move. He saw Parvati shift her position so that she was now laying on her bed. Parvati then released Greg onto her chest, between her shirt-covered breasts.

"But that's enough of that for now," Parvati said. "I bet that what Trish said was true. About you wanting to lick my toes."

"Uhh... Maybe..." Greg became a bit stimulated.

"Well, I could use a massage, so that's what I want you to do. But you have to walk all the way there." She gave him a smile.

"I can do that!" Greg excitedly said. "I've always wanted to explore the body of a giant beautiful woman!"

Parvati giggled. "You're too cute. Now, get going."

"No problem... My goddess."

Greg turned around, and began to make his way towards her feet. It seemed like such a long way away at his size. He walked down the slope of her breasts, and started down her belly, it too covered by her green shirt. It also made it look as if he was walking down a vast plain. This "plain" however, soon came to an end as he reached her hips, and her black capri pants.

'She must love capris,' Greg thought to himself as he journeyed ahead.

Soon, he came to her legs. He could now see her feet clearly, both seemingly waiting for him. He decided to take the path on her right leg to his destination, and soon was walking on the bare skin of her lower leg.

"Are you almost there?" he heard Parvati ask.

"Yeah!!" Greg yelled back. "I'm just about there now!!"

Right as he reached the ankle of her right foot, he lept off of her leg, and onto the mattress below. He then walked around her large foot, and found himself looking at the sole that was a bit over twice his current size. He could not help but marvel at the sight, like he did when she first made him give her a massage, after she had shrunken him.

He quickly came to his senses, and approached the sole. He then placed his hands on the flesh, and began to rub around the skin.

After a few minutes, he heard Parvati exhale heavily. "That feels good. You sure do know how to please a woman."

Greg did nothing but smile at her remark. Of course, he knew that she could not see him. Having finished with her right foot, Greg started to head for her left, but as he reached it, it pulled back. As did the other foot. He turned towards Parvati, and saw that she was sitting up, and had her knees bent in arches.

"Hey, my pet," she called. "Come here for a minute. There's one more thing I need to tell you."

With no hesitation, Greg approached the giantess. When he reached her, he chose to lean forward on her left foot, resting his head in his hands, and his elbows on her big toe.

"What is it, my goddess," Greg asked.

"I want you... to stay away from Lily," Parvati sternly said. "I know you heard Trish and I talk about her."

"That's fine with me," Greg said. "It's not like I'll be seeing her around, anyway. I can't go outside, and from the sounds of things, I bet you've banned her from here."

"You're right. I did. And she is the other reason why I don't want you outside. But she is a sneaky harlot. She has managed to weasel her way in here a few times before. Luckily, Trish was able to talk her into leaving before I started throwing fire." She paused for a moment. "If you see her, hide. I don't care where, just stay out of her sight until she leaves."

"...What does she look like?"

"...She has long black hair, she's of European and Japanese descent so she has that 'Eurasian' look... And she wears skirts all of the time. I can't remember ever seeing her wearing pants or the like. Oh, and she's also a witch."

"I'll keep a lookout for her, then."

Parvati smiled, and nodded. "Good boy."

"But I'm curious... What is it that you have against her?"

Her smile faded. "I'd rather not say. Not now, at least."

"Oh... Okay, then."

Parvati's smile returned. "Good."

She wiggled her big toe, causing Greg to fall backwards and onto the mattress. He then saw the foot move over him, hovering right above his body.

"I want you to kiss under my foot now," Parvati ordered. "That's what you wanted to do all along, isn't it?"

Greg started to become excited. "Yes, my goddess."

With that, the foot lowered onto his body. Right away, he started to kiss her sole, and he loved the pleasant aroma that filled his nostrils.

However, as he continuously pressed his lips against her foot, he still could not help but think of this Lily person, and whatever it was that made Parvati hate her. Asking her proved to be useless, as he suspected. Though she did not get indignant with him as he had feared.

Perhaps he should ask Trish about the tension between the two women. From the sounds of things, Greg figured that Trish was right in the middle of this conflict.

Lily... That was the name of the woman... the witch that Parvati seemed to have a vendetta against.

Greg sat with his legs crossed on Trish's bed, thinking about the mysterious woman. Just who was Lily, and what did she do to make Parvati have such a grudge against her.

He laid back on the bed, his arms crossed behind his head.

That same day that Parvati had told him about the intricaties of the witches, as well as about Lily, he made his trek into this very room to ask Trish about the conflict. Despite the fact that Parvati had clearly not wanted him to know at the time.

After having his fun with Parvati, Greg had left her room and was on his way towards Trish's room. Parvati had wondered why he finished with her so soon, and he had told her that he was going to go as Trish for another round of Feral Fighters X. Of course, this was a lie, but she seemed to believe him.

Greg had always been curious by nature. Perhaps even nosy to a fault. It was because of this that he decided to cut his appointment with Parvati's feet short, and ask Trish about the story behind this Lily person.

He reached her door, which was cracked open enough for him to walk through. Once inside, he saw that Trish was sitting at her computer, viewing what looked like a video on YouTube, though from his distance and because of his size, he could not tell what it was.

"Yo!" He called.

Much to his dismay, she did hear him; she kept her attention on the monitor in front of her. He looked closely, and saw that she had headphones over her ears.

"Great..." He said to himself before starting to walk towards her.

Her room was still as messy as ever, with several of her clothes strewn across the floor, and her sneakers lying right in his path. He walked around them, past the other articles of clothing that stood as tall as a small hill compared to him, and eventually made his to the chair that Trish was sitting in. Standing to her left, he looked up at her. She still had not noticed him down below.

"Hey, Trish!" He called again.

She did not respond. It seemed that his voice could not penetrate through the sounds from her headphones. He looked underneath the chair and saw that she had her socked feet crossed underneath it, with the soles facing towards the back. At this point, he figured that there was only one thing he could do. He walked under the chair and, with a bit of a smirk, began to tickle the sole of her left foot. Immediately, her foot shot forward, the same time he heard a "Ahh!" above. In a matter of seconds, the chair had pulled out further from the desk, and he soon found himself standing between her feet, while looking at the face that was looking back down at him.

"Well, now that I've got your attention," Greg said, "I want to ask you something."

"And what is that?" Trish answered.

"What the deal with this Lily chick?"

Trish shook her head. "Didn't you hear in there? She and Par hate each other."

"Yeah, I know, but... why?"

"Geez, you're nosy. Does your owner know you're in here?"

"Yeah, I told her that I was coming in."

She sighed. "Alright." She then reached down and grabbed him with her right hand. She then pulled him up to where she was and placed him on the desk in front of the large keyboard.

"They weren't always like this," Trish started, moving the headphones from her ears to around her neck. "In fact, the three of us were pretty close-knit. We went to high school together, though they're both two years older than I am, so that didn't last too long."

"Yeah," Greg said as he sat down. "I had a few friends back in high school that graduated before I did. I never saw them again."

Trish nodded. "Well, that obviously wasn't the case with us. But anyway, while we were there, we fell into three categories that everyone saw us as."

"Which were..."

"I was the tomboy. I played on the girls' sports teams. I wasn't the best, but I was up there. Par was the smart girl. She graduated as the valedictorian of her class. She would often help me with any problems with schoolwork that I had." She chuckled. "Lily... Oh boy..."

"What is it?"

"You know when Par was calling her a 'harlot' not too long ago, right?"

"Yeah."

"That... is somewhat true. Even back then, Lily was very popular with the guys. She was the cutest of the three of us, or so the other students said. She decided to take advantage of this and... well... Many of the girls didn't call her the 'School Slut' for nothing."

"Wait... If she was as bad as you said she was, why'd you and Parvati hang out with her?" Greg folded his arms. "Someone like that would probably mess up your rep."

"Yeah, but outside of that, she was a nice person. She was also a bit smart. Not as smart as Par, though."

"So, where'd it all go south?"

Trish sighed. "I don't know how exactly it started. When I saw them after my graduation, I could sense some tension between them. Though I didn't know it at the time, the two had their magic powers awakened at around the same time while they were gone, so maybe that had something to do with it. Either way, whatever beef they had between each other, it wasn't as bad as it is now. Not by a longshot."

"A year ago," Trish continued, "Par was seeing this guy, and-"

"Let me guess," Greg interrupted. "Lily stole him from her."

"In Lily's defense, she didn't know that he was seeing Par when she hooked up with him, though Par still partly blamed her. The shitstorm that soon followed should have told her to drop that loser. But she stayed with him. Then..."

~~~

Par and I were standing outside of the door to Lily's house. I had just rung the doorbell, and seconds later, Lily opened the door.

"It's about time!" She said jokingly.

"What is this thing that you want to show us?" I asked.

"You'll see. C'mon in!"

We followed her inside. Her house was a bit smaller than our's. In fact, the front door led right into the living room, which was connected to damn well near every single room in the house. But she had a basement, so it made up for it. Kinda.

She led us through the living room and into her bedroom, which was through an open door on the right side of the far wall. As soon as we walked in, Par and I were shocked at what we saw: In Lily's bed was Par's ex, his limbs chained to each of the four posts.

He looked dehydrated, and he had been stripped of his clothes, except for his boxer shorts. His chest had a lot of cuts on them; even worse, there were some similar-shaped scars mixed in with fresh cuts, which meant that he had been here for a while. There was a gagging ball tied into his mouth, which obviously stopped him from talking. Though as soon as we walked in, his face lit up as he recognized the both of us. We could barely make out our names from his severely muffled voice as he attempted to call us.

I looked to Par, who's initial shock had turned into anger.

"Lily," she said. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"This guy is a manwhore," Lily casually responded. "He'd go after anything that has a set of boobs. I proved that when he hooked up with me."

"You didn't answer my question," Par said. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Yeah," I said, still stunned. "This is just..."

"I wanted to make him suffer for what he did to my best friend. And for every other girl that I bet he did this to."

"This is too far!!" Par yelled. "Are you insane?!"

The guy started to nod his head rapidly. Lily turned around and slammed her open palm on his chest, where there was a higher concentration of the fresh cuts. We heard his muffled scream of agony.

"Shut it, you manwhore," she ordered. "I didn't put that ball in your mouth for nothing. I don't want to hear your mouth."

"Lily," I said. "Let him go."

"No, I can't do that. He knows too much."

"So you're going to keep him here forever?! He knows too much about what?!"

"Oh, Parvati here knows." She then smirked at Par.

I looked at her, and saw that she had a horrified expression on her face. Her hand was covering her open mouth.

"You didn't tell him, did you..." she said.

"No, I didn't," Lily answered. "I showed him."

Par's anger returned. "How could you be so stupid?! We're not supposed to tell anyone about those!!"

You see, this was three months before my powers had awakened, so, at the time, I had no idea what they were talking about. Of course, I do now.

"Well, this guy won't be leaving anytime soon," Lily said as she looked towards him. "If he did, he'd just go to the police and rat out our entire organization. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Par was about to say something, but held back. Instead, she gritted her teeth in anger. I was expecting her to lunge at Lily at any second and start beating the mess out of her. Yeah, I had never seen her fight anyone ever, but I really thought that she would do it that time.

"Besides," Lily said. "This was his idea. He's into S&M. I'm just giving him what he wants. I bet he secretly likes this."

"Even so," I said, "You're taking this too far. You gotta let him go. Surely you're not that demented!"

Lily laughed rather manically, before giving a rather sadistic smile. "We'll see, won't we?"

~~~

Greg was stunned at what he just heard. He had no idea that this Lily person was so... sadistic. No doubt that it was because of that that Parvati had warned him to stay away from her.

"There was one last war of words before Lily got mad and kicked us out," Trish said as she brought her elbow onto the desk and rested her head on the palm of her hand. "When we got home, Par started to swear in... I think Punjabi. She threw a vase and shattered it. She even yelled at me for some reason. Man... Par may be slow to anger, but once she gets started, it's quite a scary sight."

"Wow..." Greg said. "That's not something I want to see anytime soon."

"Yeah, you're right about that."

"So, because Lily tortured the guy who cheated on her, she practically hate her?" Greg shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know... I doubt many women would be THAT angry over that..."

"I guess she was shocked over how heartless such a close friend could be. That on top of stealing the guy she had been in love with, and then him learning about their 'secret' powers pretty much did it for her. Anyway, Lily later called me and apologised for what she did. She claimed that she had a severe rush of power that she went overboard with." Trish sighed. "...I forgave her."

Greg's eyes widened briefly in surprise. "Why'd you do that?"

"It's just the way I am. I've always been a forgiving person... It's how I was raised. Forgive and forget, right?" She gave him a half-smile.

"I see... What about Parvati?"

"Par is the polar opposite. Once you cross her, that's it. She's done with you. So you can guess what her response was when Lily tried to apologise to her."

"Hm..." Suddenly, a thought lit up on Greg's head. "Wait. Did Lily get caught by the head witches Parvati told me about. She said that you all are not allowed to use your powers to hurt humans."

"So Par told you about the inner workings of us witches. Yeah, that's true, but for some reason, Lily managed to get away with it. The perfect crime, I guess."

"What happened to the guy?"

"I have no idea. Lily never told me."

"You still talk to her?"

"Well, yeah. I told you, I'm a forgiving person. Plus, I hated to have to lose a friend that I've known for 5 years."

"What does Parvati think?"

Trish got a somewhat annoyed look on her face. "What do you think she thinks?!"

Greg dropped his head. "Sorry..."

"She doesn't like that I still talk to her, but she understands how I feel. But she told me to watch my back." Trish stood from the chair that she was sitting in. "At first, Lily started coming over here occasionally to try to beg for Par's forgiveness. Of course, each time was a no-go, and now she just comes over to annoy her. They can't be under the same roof anymore, so I have to be the one to get Lily out, since she doesn't listen to anything Par says."

"I see... What would she do with me?" Greg asked as he stood up. "I mean, it's not often that you see a guy of my size."

Trish reached towards the desk and plucked him from it. She then set him in her open palm.

"If she finds out that you belong to Par..." She paused for a second. "...She'll probably steal you."

Greg gasped. "Why?"

"To annoy Par."

"Is that it?"

"Pretty much."

Greg shook his head. "Childish."

"By the way... What did Par tell you about Lily?"

"...Just what she looked like, and to stay away from her."

"And you said that she sent you in here to learn about what happened?"

Greg paused for a few seconds. He could not lie at this point. If he did and said that Parvati had indeed sent him in here to hear the story, and if Trish discussed this with her, then it would mean trouble for the both of them. And after what Trish had told him, he wanted to avoid making Parvati angry at all costs.

"No." He quietly answered.

"What?!" Trish said, a bit irritated. "You mean Par didn't want you to know about this? You lied to me."

Greg shook his head. "Technically, I didn't. You asked if she knew that I was in here, and she does."

"Don't give me that loophole crap! Now I'm going to get in trouble if Par finds out!"

"Shhhhh!!!" Greg made the shushing sound as he brought his index finger in front of his lips. "She doesn't have to know. I'll just pretend that you never told me."

Trish stared at him. "You think that'll work?"

"It could..."

"Hm..." Trish walked towards her bed, and knelt down and placed Greg on the floor beside it.

"What are you doing?" Greg asked as he looked up towards her, before grinning. "Are you going to step on me as punishment?"

"No. That would be rewarding you."

Trish pointed towards Greg, and soon, a light eminated from the tip of her index finger. It shot from her finger, to a spot right next to him. After the light disappeared, Greg saw that a broom, a mop, and a large bucket of water were in its place.

"Your punishment is to clean under my bed," Trish said.

"What?!" Shocked at what he just heard, Greg's mouth dropped. "C'mon..."

"Do you want me to tell Par that you tricked me into telling you about her and Lily?"

"...No..."

"Good. I want it done by the end of the day." Trish stood upright. "You're the perfect size for such a task. Anyway, I'm going to go get something to eat." She then turned to her left and walked out of the room.

Greg sighed and picked up the broom and mop with one hand, and the heavy bucket of water in the other, and made his way underneath her bed. One there, he saw just how large the space was underneath in relation to his current size. In addition, it was dark, the only light coming from outside of the bed. Of course, it was messy, with dust balls and dirt from her sneakers all over the places where he could see rather clearly.

"Jesus Christ..." He said in astonishment.

This is the punishment he must endure for going behind Parvati's back.

Greg walked out of Trish's room. He had spent enough time in her room, and while she did allow him to hang around in her room, he found it rather boring without anyone to keep him company.

Soon, he exited the back hallway as he made his way into the kitchen.

He remembered one time, a time when he was also bored, when he stumbled onto quite a surprise in here during one task that Parvati had given him.

Greg stepped outside of his dollhouse, and then soon walked out from under Parvati's bed. He was bored. Nothing currently in his house interested him, so he decided to take a look around the much bigger house to find something to do.

As he emerged from the bed, he looked towards the desk, and saw Parvati sitting there, looking at the screen of her laptop computer. She wore a white tanktop and blue jeans. From where he was, he could not see what it was that she was doing on there.

He opened his mouth and prepared to call out to her, but then reconsidered it as he glanced under the chair. As always, she was barefooted. Or, at least, she was at that moment.

A mischievous grin appeared on his face, before he headed towards her chair.

Within minutes, Greg found himself directly under the massive chair, and right in front of him was the sole of Parvati's left foot. This time, without a second thought, he puckered his lips, drew his face into the sole, and planted a kiss on it.

Upon doing this, the foot shot forward, and then the chair slid back. Soon, Greg found himself between both of Parvati's feet and looking up towards her face as she looked back down on him.

"I was wondering when I'd see you around," she said with a smile. "What's up?"

"I'm bored," Greg responded.

"Is that so?"

"I've gone through everything interesting in the hous- dollhouse."

"...Is Trish here?"

"No. She said she was going out to play basketball with some friends, or something like that."

"I see..."

"...Can I play with them?" He pointed towards her right foot.

Parvati shook her head. "No. Not right now."

"Aw, man..." Greg sighed in disappointment. "What are you doing, anyway? Work stuff?"

"No. Just reading an article on global warming."

"...Booooooring," he said in a mocking tone.

Parvati playfully jabbed him with the big toe on her right foot, knocking him to the floor on his buttocks.

"Hey!" Greg yelled.

"It's good to know what's going on in the world," Parvati said. "It most certainly is not boring."

"Whatever." Greg stood back up. "So, what am I supposed to do now?"

Parvati looked towards the ceiling, as if she was thinking about something. Seconds later, she turned her attention back onto Greg.

"Go back in the house," she said.

"Why?" Greg asked, confused.

"You'll see." She smiled and winked at him.

Greg stared at her for a few more seconds, before starting to walk back towards her bed. Halfway to the bed, he looked back towards the giant woman, who had slid her chair back where it was and had resumed reading the article she mentioned.

Finding himself back in the darkness under the bed, he headed to the dollhouse that he called his home inside the much larger house, and then opened the door and walked inside.

He walked into the living room. An exact replica of the one that was in the much larger house, complete with the coffee table with the vase of plastic flowers on top of it and television in the corner. Nothing weird here.

He then walked back into the main hall, and then crossed it into the kitchen. Nothing here but the typical appliances normally found in a kitchen, with the table sitting in the center of the room, just like the much larger kitchen. However, Greg noticed something on top of the table. He walked closer to it, and found that it was a folded sheet of paper.

Greg looked around the house briefly, before grabbing the paper off of the table and opening it. It seemed to be a note of some sort.

"...Is that right?" Greg said as he studied the note. "Orbs, huh?"

-Yes. Orbs. ^_^-

Greg's eyes widened in surprise as the note actually responded to his rambling. Then, a large, leather handbag suddenly appeared on the table.

He stared at the handbag for a few seconds, before nodding.

"Okay, then... Let's get this done."

~~~

As Greg walked out of from under the bed, with the handbag hanging from his shoulders, he saw that Parvati was no longer in the room. The seat that she was sitting in was pushed in, and he could barely make out the closed laptop on the desk.

He looked towards the sheet of paper in his hand.

-Orb #1 is in a place of dining. Go there.-

"I guess that's the kitchen," Greg concluded.

He then made his way out of Parvati's room, and into the back hall. He soon left the hallway and walked into the kitchen. He looked around this room... and did not see anything out of the ordinary.

He looked back towards the note. "What now?"

-Explore. You'll find it. ...Eventually.-

"Yeah, that helps a lot," Greg said sarcastically.

He walked towards the large table in the center of the room, looking around the kitchen as he headed in that direction. Still nothing. Was it possible that he would have to do some climbing? If so, that would be quite an ordeal... one that may even cause him to give up on this challenge.

He soon found himself underneath the table, next to one of its legs. He looked back down at the note.

-Explore. You'll find it. ...Eventually.-

It had not changed its message. Apparently, it would not be of any more help during this phase.

Greg looked around himself once more. Everything seemed perfectly normal as he scanned the room. At least, until something caught his eye: two dark spots on the leg of the table that was near him. These spots were in close proximity to each other. He had not noticed them in the dozens of times he was underneath this table before.

Greg examined the spots as he moved closer to the leg of the table. They almost looked like... eyes.

Suddenly, they blinked, which caused Greg to jump back in surprise. Then, what sounded like a giggle emanated from the table leg.

"What the-"

A figure soon began to emerge from the wooden leg. As it took shape, Greg found that it began to resemble... Parvati. A much smaller Parvati who seemed to more match his size. However, with the exception of her skin, hair, and eyes, everything about her was red: her clothes, her sandals, her jewelery and other accessories, and her nail polish.

"Parvati!" Greg called in surprise. "Why'd you shrink yourself?! Why all the red?!"

The apparition giggle. "Silly. I'm not the Parvati you know and love. I'm just a familiar that she created."

Greg tilted his head as he examined her. "Can she do that?"

"You have no idea of the extent of her powers," she responded. "Anyway, here you go."

She reached behind her back, and pulled out a glowing red sphere of sorts, one that looked to be big enough to fit on both of her hands. She then held it out to him.

"Take it," she said with a smile.

Greg stared at her for a few seconds, before stepping forward and grabbing the sphere from her hands. He then opened the handbag on his shoulders and stuffed the orb inside.

"Thank you," he said.

The apparition nodded. "You're welcome. Now, my work here is done."

Greg watched as the woman began to fade away in a sparkling, red magical dust of some kind, before she disappeared completely.

"One down," he said.

~~~

(-Orb #2 lies in the window to the rest of the world.-)

Greg walked aimlessly through the kitchen, eventually making his way into the front hallway and headed towards the living room. As he walked inside, he saw that the television was still on. The local news was currently airing.

"A double homicide on Ford Street today left bystanders stunned," said a female newsanchor on the screen. "Witnesses say that the perpetrator fled from the scene. He is described as a Black male, in his late teens or early 20s..."

"They always are Black," Greg jokingly said to himself, before looking at the note.

-Aren't you Black yourself?-

Greg rolled his eyes, before looking back towards the television.

"The Large Hadron Collider will go online as expected," said a male reporter, "amid protests from activists who believe that it could cause the end of the world."

"The world...?" Suddenly, Greg had a realization.

He rushed towards the television as fast as he could. He eventually found himself standing before it, with it looming over him like a large screen at a drive-in outdoors theatre. He was so small compared to the television, and so close, that he had trouble making out the images that flashed on the screen.

Suddenly, the screen froze, and then was filled with static. Greg backed away from the screen, just before he saw a figure emerging from the static and stepping onto the floor. Soon, it took the form of Parvati, much like the previous apparition did before her. Except while that one was "red," this one wore green clothes.

"You found me," it said.

"Well, now that I think about it," Greg said. "This task isn't too hard. It took me a while to figure it out, but I think I can handle this."

"Good." She spun her index finger around, and suddenly, a glowing green sphere appeared in front of his face.

Without a word, Greg grabbed the orb from midair, and stuffed it into the handbag. He gave the Parvati look-a-like a smile, before turning around and preparing to walk away from her.

"Wait!"

Greg turned back towards her. "What is it, Parvati Green?"

The familiar pointed at her feet. "What do you think of the polish? Is green a nice color?"

Greg looked towards her toes and the nail polish on each one. "Well, I don't see girls with green polish that often. It's mostly red... or black. ...I think they look nice."

"And you're just not saying that because you like feet?" She placed her hands on her hips.

"Kinda," he admitted, "but it also helps that green is my favorite color."

"Is that right?" She placed her finger on her chin and looked away as if she was thinking about something. At that point, she started to disappear in the same sparkling dust as the previous incarnation, except that hers was green. Soon, she was gone completely.

"Huh." Greg shrugged his shoulders, before making his way out of the living room.

~~~

(-What a mess this is! Orb #3 is in this pigsty. Good lord... >_<-)

It did not take Greg long to figure this one out. He walked into Trish's room through the door that was always cracked open for his sake. As the note said, Trish's room was messy. It was always messy.

However, now he had to figure out where it was in here.

He looked towards the note. "Any clues?"

-It's somewhere in here.-

"That's not helping at all!" Greg blurted. "Can't you give me a better clue?"

-It's somewhere in here.-

"Oh, forget it!" Greg said in frustration.

He then looked around the room. This would be a quite a task to find the third sphere in this filth.

He walked through the large bedroom, climbing over the strewn-out clothing that laid on the floor, clothing that looked more like hills to him at his size. He examined each article of clothing he came across, for any sign of the third orb. Nothing stood out.

Greg sighed and continued his search, eventually making it to the other side of the room. There was less clothing on the floor over here, probably because it was near her bathroom. He still did not see any indication of the third orb.

After nearly 30 minutes of searching, Greg looked towards the note, and was shocked at what he saw written on it.

-Oops! I was wrong. It's not in the pigsty, but it is near it. ^_^-

Greg let out a cry of frustration. "Will you get your facts straight?! And what's up with all of the emoticons?! It's like you're texting someone!"

With this new revelation, he decided to expand his search a bit. He looked towards the bathroom. Having never actually been in there before, he decided that this was a good time to get a glimpse of what Trish's bathroom looked like, so he walked towards it.

Upon entering it, he found the bathroom to be quite clean. A stark contrast to the room outside.

He then noticed something in the middle of the floor off into the distance. Or rather, someone. Even from here, Greg could see that this person was wearing yellow, and that they had their back turned against him. Despite this, Greg knew who it was, and broke out in a rush towards them.

As expected, as he reached the person, they turned around, revealing yet another doppelganger of Parvati, a "yellow" doppleganger. As Greg panted, she held her palm out towards him, and he watched as a glowing yellow orb appeared floating a few inches above her hand. As it finished manifesting itself, Greg took ahold of it and placed it in his handbag with the other orbs that were already inside.

"That was disappointly easy," Greg said, before walking away from the woman.

"...I would step on you."

Greg stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the apparition who had been silent until now.

"What was that?" Greg asked.

"Isn't that your fantasy?" she asked. "To be stepped on by a pretty girl?"

He blinked. "...Yeah..." He looked towards the amber-colored sandals that she was wearing. "You have the right shoes for it, too."

She smiled. "Thank you." She then started to fade away in a yellow dust of sparkling magic, much like the two before her.

"What was that all about?" Greg asked himself. "Parvati already knows about my fantasy..."

~~~

(-The final orb, Orb #4 lies in the back of your humble abode.-)

This one was not too hard, either. Greg walked back under Parvati's bed and made his way towards his dollhouse. Upon arriving, he walked around it and headed behind the house. It was a place that he had not ventured to too often, as there usually was not anything there for him to amuse himself with.

However, this time was different.

As he reached the back of his dollhouse, he could see a somewhat large lamp shining onto a blue flip-flop sandal. Something that had clearly not been there before.

"The hell?"

Greg walked closer to both of these objects, and looked from the lamp to the flip-flop. He then looked at the note in his hand.

-It's in one of these. Which one is it? That's up to you, my pet. ^_^-

"What happens if I guess wrong?" Greg asked.

-Then I'll punish you.-

"What kind of punishment?"

-That's my little secret.-

Greg sighed, and looked at both objects again. He then remembered the previous two apparitions, and how they made him focus on their feet. Almost as if they were giving him hints for this final challenge. It seemed almost too obvious...

But what relevance did this lamp have, other than to give this place some much needed light? With the blatant hints about their feet, it seemed clear that Parvati was trying to steer him into the wrong direction. If he took the bait, then everything he had done for would have been for naught.

However, was it possible that Parvati would have suspected him to think that she was deceiving him, and actually have the gigantic flip-flop house the final orb? It seemed highly possible, especially with the seemingly ease of the final clue.

He had to make his decision. After some hard thinking, he finally came to a conclusion. He took a deep breath, and walked towards the lamp, and then placed his hand on it.

He looked around. After a few seconds, he heard a noise. He looked towards the flip-flop, and saw a figure emerging from the thong. As expected, this figure took the form of Parvati, one that wore blue. She then walked towards him, with a somewhat stoic on her face.

"Aww... Too bad," she said.

Greg sighed. "Dammit."

The apparition folded her arms and shook her head. "I was going to shrink you down to ant-size, too..." She chuckled. "It would have been interesting to see you run from me when I was stomping after you."

"Aw, man..." Greg said in disappointment. "So I failed?"

She smiled. "No, you guessed right."

"What?!" Greg was shocked. "But all of that you were talking about... That sounded like-"

"That was the punishment," she said. "Probably more like a reward for you, but still a punishment."

She then stretched her arm out towards the lamp. The lamp started to glow with a blue hue, before it reduced in size and transformed into a much more spherical shape. The glowing faded as the sphere settled onto the floor, revealing the final blue orb.

"Take it," the apparition said.

Greg nodded, and reached down to pick up the orb from the floor. He then placed it into the bag with the other three that were inside.

"Can that still be my prize?" Greg asked. "You stomping me into oblivion?"

She shook her head. "No. I have something else planned."

"What's that?"

She smiled. "You'll find out in a few."

Greg watched as the apparition faded away in a blue, sparkling mist, before she was gone completely. With her also faded the giant flip-flop. He then looked into handbag once more and examined each of the orbs. What were they, anyway? Were they anything special, or just something to keep him amused for a while?

He walked towards the front of his house, before he heard footsteps approaching the room. Must be Parvati. The real Parvati. He made a detour and headed for the open room outside from under this bed.

As he emerged, he found the giant woman waiting for him, holding her closed laptop in her right hand. He also took notice to the white flip-flops that she wore on her feet.

"So, you succeeded?" She said.

"Don't act like you don't know," Greg responded. "I bet you were watching the whole thing."

Parvati opened her laptop and then kneeled down closer to his level. She then turned the screen towards him. On the screen, he saw a word document with several phrases on it. Phrases such as "It's in one of these. Which one is it? That's up to you, my pet," "Aren't you Black yourself?", and "Explore. You'll find it. ...Eventually."

"So you were the note..." Greg said. "Where were you?"

"On the back porch," she responded as she stood upright and closed the laptop. "I guess I did make it a bit too easy for you, but did you have fun?"

"Yeah, a little." He started to make his way towards her right foot. "So, what's my prize?"

She gently pushed him back into the spot he was in before with her right foot. "It's not the girls. Not yet."

"Aww man..." Greg sighed in disappointment.

"Don't sound too disappointed, my pet."

"...Why not?"

She smiled. "Because we're going to the beach."

Greg climbed onto the couch of the living room, and found himself a spot on the giant cushion. There, he sat down and stared at the television across from the coffee table that stood in front of the couch. It was turned off, and the remote was on the opposite side of the table, well out of his reach.

This time, his window to the rest of the world was closed, so he decided to reminisce like he had been doing since he woke up that day.

He thought back to the day of the scavenger hunt that Parvati had sent him on. The day that he was rewarded... with a trip to the beach.

"She's taking us to the beach?" Trish asked as she searched through her discarded clothing on the floor.

"Yeah," Greg said as he sat on her bed. "Because I won her challenge, or something like that."

"I wonder how that's going to work..." Holding a red t-shirt, Trish stood upright and faced Greg. "Is she going to make you big before we leave?"

Greg shrugged. "I don't know. Though I love being small, going to a beach like this would be a problem."

"Yeah. Especially if a little brat tries to take you."

"...I hate kids."

"Me too. That's why I'm never having any."

Greg stood up. "So, what are you going to wear?"

"...Whatever I can find in here," Trish answered. "Like, a t-shirt and some short shorts."

"...Sandals, too?"

Trish chuckled. "You WOULD ask something like that."

"What kind?"

"That's a secret."

"Aww... c'monnn...." Greg begged. "I've never seen you in sandals. Can I get a peek?"

"You've already seen me barefoot, so just imagine me wearing your favorite pair of sandals." Trish tossed the red t-shirt back onto a pile on the floor. "I WON'T be wearing them, though, so too bad."

Greg sighed. "You're no fun. ...Though I don't think you could pull it off, anyway."

"...Get out."

"Why? What did I do?"

"I gotta change."

"There's the bathroom," Greg said as he pointed towards her opened bathroom door.

Trish walked towards the bed. "Yeah, but this is MY room."

Upon reaching Greg, she cupped her hands around him and picked him off of her bed. From there, she carried him into the back hallway right outside of her bedroom door and set him down on the floor.

"Why don't you go bother your owner?" Trish suggested.

"She put me out of her room, too," Greg said.

"Oh." She stuck her tounge out at him. "Not my problem."

Trish then walked back into her room and shut the door. Greg stared at the closed door for a few seconds before turning around and making his way across the hallway.

He needed to get back to his dollhouse so that he could pick out the appropriate clothes for their beach excursion. However, as he had said to Trish, Parvati had also kicked him out of her room as well. Therefore, he could not reach his dollhouse, where his clothing were.

Upon walking halfway through the hall, he turned to his right and walked into the kitchen. Once there, he noticed something underneath the table in the center of the room. As he approached it, he could see that the object resembled a closed, standing suitcase; his intuition was confirmed as he reached the object.

Greg kneeled down and laid the suitcase onto its side, and then unlatched the locks and opened it. Inside were a pair of beige shorts, a green t-shirt, black water shoes, and a towel. On top of the clothing was a note, in the same handwriting as the one he had used during his scavenger hunt. He picked it up from the clothing and began to read it.

-Don't worry, my pet. I didn't forget about your clothes. Put these on, and wait for me and Trish in the living room. We should be out shortly.-

"Where are we going?" Greg asked.

He stared at the note for several seconds. The words on the sheet of paper did not change like it did before. Parvati must not be watching him. He placed the note onto the side of the suitcase, and pulled out the green t-shirt.

~~~

Now in the attire that Parvati had picked out for him, Greg sat on the couch in the living room. In all of the time it took him to walk into the room and make his way onto the couch, neither of the two young women had come out of their rooms.

To past the time, he was watching the television that was conviently left on. Airing was a sitcom that he did not know the name of... nor did he find too amusing. He glanced at the clock that hung on the wall. It was approaching 5:30pm. The sun was still a few hours from setting, but wasn't it too late to go to the beach now? Not only that, but he still had no idea how Parvati would handle his size. Just what did she have planned?

Several minutes later, he finally heard one of the back bedroom doors open. He soon heard approaching footsteps, as well as an accompanying slapping sound of a pair of slippers of some sort. Seconds later, he saw Trish walk into the living room. As she said before, she wore a white t-shirt that was tied in a knot above her navel and blue jean short shorts. Her short red hair was tied into a ponytail behind her head, and she carried a backpack on her back. As per his nature, Greg took this opportunity to see what kind of shoes she was wearing: black and white Adidas slides.

"Ugh, why?" Greg said in disappointment. "I hate those things."

"Hate what?" Trish asked.

Greg pointed towards her feet. "Those. Those Adidas sandals."

"Yeah, well too bad. I love them, and it's the only kind of sandal that I even like." Trish looked towards the clock. "What is Par thinking? It's too late to go to the beach now."

"...The sun's still out, and we should have a few good hours left before it gets dark."

"But this is when the beach is its busiest. All of the brats and stupid blondes with fake tans are going to be there something fierce."

Greg's interest was slightly perked. "...Blondes, you say?"

Trish chuckled. "Of course. ALL guys like blondes."

"...Actually, I'm more of a redhead person."

Trish's eyes widened. "Is that right?"

"Don't get any ideas. You're not really the type of girl I'd want to date. I want someone in touch with their feminine side."

"Well, that definately isn't me," Trish said.

"Yeah, I know."

Greg heard the other bedroom door open, and then the approching footsteps that followed. Within seconds, Parvati entered into the living room. She wore an unbuttoned yellow shirt that exposed the white bra underneath and blue tight-fitting shorts. She had a pair of sunglasses that was held in her hair above her face and carried a straw bag. Completing her outfit, she wore a pair of black thong sandals, with laces that were tied around her lower leg.

"See?" Greg said to Trish as he pointed towards Parvati's feet. "That's the kind of sandal you should be wearing!"

Trish looked at Parvati's sandals. "What? That lacy crap?! Hell no!"

Parvati chuckled. "You'd have a better chance of getting a dog to recite Shakespeare than to get Trish to wear something like these."

"...Did you just compare me to a dog?"

"Anyway," Greg said, "How are we going to do this? Are you going to make me big?"

Parvati shook her head. "No."

"Then what will you do about all the people that's going to be there? I don't want anyone seeing me like this!"

Parvati smiled. "What people?"

"What do you mean 'What people'? It's a beach!"

Parvati walked towards the couch that Greg was standing on and placed the bag on the floor, before opening it. Inside was a towel, lotion, and a cotton cloth.

"Hop in," she said. "You'll see soon enough."

Rather than question her again, Greg nodded, grabbed his towel, and leaped into the bag. He landed on her towel and looked upward at the two giant young women who were peering at him inside of the bag.

"Now, it's time for us to leave," Parvati said. "Turn the TV off, and we'll be out of here in an instant."

Trish disappeared from Greg's sight as she walked away. "Wait. We're not going to drive there? That's not like you." The sounds of from the television ceased.

"I don't think we could reach our destination by car." Parvati reached down and picked the bag off of the floor.

"Where ARE we going, anyway?" Trish asked.

"The beach," Parvati slyly responded.

"Now I'm confused."

Parvati smiled. "Come over here, and we'll be there in a jiffy."

Trish returned to Greg's sight.

Parvati looked into the bag. "Ready?"

Greg nodded.

"Well, then..." Freeing one of her arms from the bag's handle, she pointed her index finger into the air. A sparkle of light eminated from it, and soon Greg's vision was consumed with a blinding light.

~~~

Greg awoke to the sound of water splashing along a coastline, as well as the cries of seagulls. Above the giant Parvati that stood above him was a deep blue sky seeming clear of any clouds. He stood up as he felt the bag being dropped to the ground.

Parvati reached into the bag and wrapped her fingers around his body, and then pulled him out of it and placed him on the sand in front of her feet. He looked around himself. This was a beach, alright, but there was no one here. No one expect the three of them. There was water all around, with a few palm trees throughout the beach. Behind him was what looked like a forest of some sort, as well as a small mountain off in the distance.

"Where are we?" Greg asked as he turned upward to face Parvati.

"The beach," Parvati answered with a smile.

"Oh, stop it already!" Trish retorted. "Where are we really?"

Parvati shifted the sunglasses from her hair to her face, before answering. "Alright, fine. This is an uncharted island in the South Pacific."

"What?!" Trish said in a surprised tone.

"Yep. I come here whenever I want to relax. I don't have to worry about anyone else finding this place. Not humans, at least."

"Why not?" Greg asked.

"Well, you can't see it from here, but there's a fog around this island that confuses ships and other navigational equipment. It also has a strong magnetic field that helps in that regard as well."

"I see..." Greg walked forward. "It really looks like a nice place."

"It IS a nice place," Parvati said.

"So..." Trish said. "What now?"

Parvati picked up her straw bag and walked a few feet to her right. There, she reached into her bag and pulled out the cotton cloth that was inside and spread it onto the sandy ground. She then stood upright and pointed her index finger in front of her. In that instant, a sparkle of magic burst from the tip of her finger and soon, a large, opened umbrella appeared in the spot she pointed towards.

She then turned back towards Greg and Trish. "Have fun." She smiled.

~~~

Greg sat in front of Parvati's now bare feet as she laid on the cloth that she had spread down. He looked towards Trish, who was surfing on a surfboard that she created with her magic, riding waves that were also magic-created. Greg wanted to go for a swim, but he was afraid that he would be washed away due to his size, or eaten by a fish.

Instead, he decided to just enjoy the beauty of the island from the shade underneath the umbrella. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, as this island was several hours behind the town they came from.

"At least we don't have to deal with any kids," Greg said to himself as he leaned back onto Parvati's sole.

"Enjoying yourself?" Greg heard Parvati ask.

"Yeah," he said. "What about you?"

Greg waited a few seconds for a response, and did not get any.

"Hello?!" He called out.

"Oh!" Parvati sounded somewhat surprised. "Sorry, but I couldn't hear you."

Greg felt her foot move behind him. He turned around and saw Parvati sitting up and removing the sunglasses from her face, and laying her feet flat on the ground.

"So, can I ask you something?" Greg said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"How did you find this island, anyway? You said that it's not on any map."

"...I bought it from the previous owner. She was also a witch."

"Really?"

"Yeah. ...She passed away a year-and-a-half ago from old age."

"Sorry to hear that..."

"It's okay... Before she died, she had a bit of a silent auction in the Aurora Realm, and, for some reason, I was invited."

"Aurora Realm?"

"It's a world on the reverse side of this one; the homeworld of witches, if you will."

"Oh."

"Anyway, she knew that her time was coming, and with no family of her own to pass them onto, she decided to give away her worldly possessions. She had a lot of interesting things, but most of those already had high bids on them. I did not have too much money with me, so I looked for something that had either a small bid or no bid at all."

"I eventually found a rolled-up sheet of paper with a kind of magic ribbon around it. I guess that, compared to the other things, this did not have any appeal to anyone else, as there was no bid on it, so I put down $30 on the note next to it. Whether I actually got it or not didn't matter to me at the time."

"Well," Greg said, "we all know you got it."

Parvati smiled. "Yes. After the auction was over, and I received my prize, I met with the woman. She was in a wheelchair and looked very sick. I asked her what she was going to do with the money. She said that she was sending it all to a benefit for the starving children of poor countries." She sighed. "After that, the next time I heard from her estate was to announce her passing."

"Did you go to her funeral?"

"No, I couldn't. One: I wasn't invited. Two: It was in the Aurora Realm."

"...So?"

"...We witches can't just go back and forth between the Human Realm and the Aurora Realm. We need permission, and an escort from a General Witch."

"Why is that? You'd think that witches would be able to go between the worlds whenever they want."

"As far as I know, it wasn't always like that. It started when the current council came into power. They said that too many witches were abusing it by bringing in their human lovers."

"I guess that makes sense. If they broke up, the human would know all of their secrets."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing."

"...So, what was in the paper you bought?"

"Oh yes. It was the coordinates and location of this island. The day after the auction, using what was in the letter, I warped here to see it for myself. I was awestruck. It was... is such a beautiful and serene place. I fell in love instantly."

Greg sat down. "And you never told Trish about it?"

Parvati shook her head. "I wanted it to remain my little secret. I guess because I had a feeling that if I told Trish, she would tell her..."

"...Lily?"

"Yes."

"And you decided to do it now, why?"

"Well, I wanted to show you this place. I knew that Trish would come along for the ride, too, so I caved and brought her as well."

"...Why me?"

"Because I like you." She smiled. "You're my favorite little pet."

Greg blushed. "And you're my favorite beautiful Goddess."

Parvati laughed. "Are you trying to flirt?"

"...Maybe..." Greg slyly said.

"Cute," she said with a smile. "...Run."

"What?" Greg was confused.

Parvati stood up. "I said run. The Goddess is feeling a little playful right now."

Greg wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but he soon figured it out himself. He stood up, turned around, and started to run away from the giantess. He ran off of the mat and onto the sunny sand.

As he expected, within seconds, he saw a foot-shaped shadow surround him from above. He looked above him and the bare sole of Parvati's right foot coming down onto him. He stopped running and turned around. He knew what was about to happen, so he did not want his face to be pressed into the sand below.

The ball of Parvati's foot stepped down onto his body, pushing him into the sand. Despite wanting to avoid the sand below getting in his face, her foot had quite a few sand grains on it itself, so he found himself slightly annoyed that he still got a bit of sand on him. He felt her twist her foot on his body a few times, before she withdrew it and rested it alongside its companion.

Greg sat up and found himself within a large footprint in the sand. Now sporting a boner in his shorts, he looked up at Parvati, who looked down on him with her hands on her hips.

"That was too easy," she said. "Just like that morning when I first shrunk you. ...You little people are easy to control."

"It's not easy for us to outrun someone as big as you," Greg said with a smile of satisfaction.

Parvati giggled. "I know." Her right foot then returned over him, and then she prodded him into the sand with her big toe. "So weak... So helpless..."

Greg tried to push up on the toe, but failed as it was far too heavy for him. "You're really getting into this Goddess role, aren't you?"

"Well, it's something new. Plus, it's fun to have a small subject around who'll do whatever I say."

"And I love doing it," Greg responded. "As long as I get a little something in return." He then kissed the frontside of her toe.

Parvati giggled again. "Of course, my pet."

~~~

Greg laid on the sheet of cloth with his back against the ground. Parvati's right foot was laying on most of his body, exposing only his head and upper chest. He was half-sleep, being soothed by the splashing waves and having found Parvati's foot the perfect cover for him. From the sound of the faint snoring he heard, Parvati had fallen asleep as well.

Greg closed his eyes, and prepared to doze off as well.

"Hey, runt."

Greg opened his eyes and saw a wet Trish standing over him.

"You look like you had fun being stepped on and stuff," she said.

"Of course," Greg responded. "You know how I am. ...Oh, and you fail at surfing."

"Well, at least I tried. ...So, let's go."

"Go? Go where?"

Trish kneeled down and pulled Greg out from under Parvati's foot.

"I want to do a little exploring." With Greg in hand, Trish walked away from the sleeping Parvati, and towards the island's lush forest.

Still sitting on the giant cushion of the living room couch, Greg looked towards the clock that hung on the wall. It was nearing 3pm. Parvati would be home soon.

Not for at least an hour, though, so Greg laid back on the couch and continued to think about their day at the beach. Or rather, after Trish had carried him off into the island's forest.

Greg now sat on Trish's left shoulder, keeping a firm grip onto her shirt as she walked on a narrow dirt path through the forest. With the leaves of the trees covering from above, barely any sunlight was shining through, though it was still quite humid. The cries of several of the native animals and bugs could be heard from both nearby and further away, though Greg could not see any of them, aside from the flying insects.

"Can we leave now?" Greg asked a bit nervously.

"What, afraid?" Trish said in a teasing manner.

"I just think that something's going to come out and eat me," Greg responded.

"Quit being paranoid. We're not even halfway in, and you're acting like a little girl."

"Well, that's half-true. They'll toss me around like a piece of fruit!"

"Shut up, or I'll throw you in there," Trish pointed to her left, towards the dense vegetation, "and let nature decide what to do with you."

"Please don't," Greg begged. "Parvati would be steamed."

"I'll just tell her that you ran off on your own."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you're a curious person. Too curious for your own good."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't-"

"Par know's it, I bet. She'd probably believe me."

"Man..." Greg looked forward. The path did not seem to have an end in sight. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"No..." Trish answered. "But this path can't be here for nothing, can it?"

"What if you're going in a circle?" Greg asked. "We have made a few turns, all in the same direction."

"If we were going in a circle, we'd probably see the beach."

"Not through these woods... We'll be in here forever..."

Greg was silent for several minutes as Trish continued her trek through the warm forest. He scanned through the trees off to the side, half-expecting an animal of some sort to swoop in and tear him from Trish's shoulder.

Before long, Greg looked forward and saw that this path was indeed coming to an end.

"Forever, runt?" Trish said as she headed towards the exit.

~~~

Trish emerged from the passageway and into a clearing in the forest. Before her and Greg was a small lake, with water splashing down from a waterfall from the now near mountain. There was also a stream that led from the lake and into another side of the forest.

"This is nice," Trish said in awe.

"Yeah," Greg agreed. "I can see why Parvati likes this place so much."

Trish turned her head towards Greg on her shoulder. "Aren't you happy now that we came out here?"

"No." Greg flatly said.

Trish sighed. "And you say I'm no fun..."

"I just don't want to get killed out here."

"Nothing's going to kill or eat you. Because I'll stomp the life out of anything that tries to."

This statement caught Greg by surprise. "Wow... Really?"

"Of course. Par likes you, and Par is my best friend. So I have to protect her stuff, don't I?" She smiled.

"...You're lucky PETA wasn't around to hear you say that about you stomping the animals."

Trish scoffed. "Fuck PETA. It's either us or the animals, and I'm not dying anytime soon!"

"My sentiments exactly."

Trish walked closer to the lake. The light from the sun was reflecting off of the surface. Greg had to avert this gaze so that he would not be blinded by the light.

"Hey, Trish?" Greg called.

"What?" she answered.

"I just had a question come into my head... When you got your powers, how did you tell Parvati? I mean, I doubt you knew that she was a witch."

"Hmm... Yeah, I guess you have a point."

"So..."

"I guess you could say we knew right away."

"Come again?" A baffled Greg said.

"Well..." Trish sat down on the ground and grabbed Greg from her shoulder, and held him in her palms. "It goes like this... You humans can't see it, but witches give off some kind of aura that only we can see."

"Is that right?" Greg said in a somewhat surprised tone, though by now, he had gotten used to the magical aspects of this life.

"Yeah. I woke up one morning, went about my usual business, and met Par in the kitchen... Except that she had a pinkish aura around her. I thought I was seeing things, because I stayed up too late. What was odd was that she was surprised to see me as well; her mouth dropped as soon as I walked in, and she nearly dropped the cup of coffee she had."

"I asked her why she was staring at me like she was. She said that I was a witch. I thought she was insulting me, but then she explained everything to me. I tried using my new magic, and I liked what I saw. Of course, Par told me not to tell any human, or not to use them in public."

"Do you?" Greg asked.

"Of course not!" Trish retorted. "What do you think I am?! Stupid?!"

"Just asking..." Greg responded, defeated. "Sorry..."

"Whatever." Trish looked towards the lake. She seemed to be focusing on an object across the lake, as she squinted her eyes. "Damn."

"What's wrong?" Greg asked.

"I think I might need glasses soon. Things are getting a bit blurry for me..."

"Why don't you just use your magic to fix that?"

"I would, but Par wouldn't like that."

"She doesn't have to know."

"She knows about my eyesight. Even back in high school, I had trouble, but it wasn't as bad as it's getting now. Plus, Par is right about me having to learn how to do things on my own without magic."

"Oh yeah... She told me about that before."

"She did? ...Anyway, I've managed most of my life without magic, and I think that I can do without it."

"So, if you could give it up tomorrow, would you?"

"...No." Trish flatly said.

Greg chuckled. "Of course."

"I mean... It's great protection. Like, if someone tried to mug me, I could just do to them what Par did to you."

"You mean shrink them?"

"Yeah. Except I wouldn't make them squash-proof."

"...If that happens, you should bring them to Parvati and make her step on them." Greg said with a mischievous grin on his face.

Trished laughed. "You weirdo. I don't think Par would do something like that."

"...I wouldn't be too sure about that..." He responded.

~~~

Once again riding on Trish's shoulder, Greg held onto her as she walked back onto the beach. He was unsure as to how much time they has spend at the island's lake, but the sun was lower in the sky than it was when they first made their trek into the forest.

Standing at the coast was Parvati, who was looking out at the sea, with the wave of the sea splashing on her bare feet. As Trish neared her, Parvati turned towards her, and greeted both her and Greg with a smile.

"You're both back," she said. "Went to see the lake?"

"Yeah," Trish responded.

"She dragged me along," Greg said, pointing his thumb towards Trish's head. "I wanted to stay here with you."

"He was practically wetting his pants over the thought of a wild animal eating him," Trish said.

"You LIAR!" Greg retorted in a half-teasing manner.

"Don't deny it, runt," Trish said, "or I'll throw you into the ocean."

"...You're an evil person..."

Parvati laughed. "Life is never boring with you two around." She turned back towards the sea. "...I think I made the right decision, bringing you both here."

Trish had somewhat of a confused look on her face. "What are you talking about, all of a sudden?"

Parvati once again turned towards the two. "Nothing. Just thinking out loud."

She then walked up to Trish, and grabbed Greg off of her shoulder.

"When we go back home," Parvati said as she addressed him, "I want you to give me a foot rub. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, my Goddess!" Greg eagerly said.

"The hell?" Trish replied, apparently surprised at how Greg addressed Parvati.

Parvati smiled. "Thank you, my pet. I really look forward to it."

"So am I," Greg responded gleefully.

~~~

The three stayed on the island for a few more hours, eventually witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets that Greg had ever seen in his life. The sight of the sun setting over the sea-filled horizon, complete with the crimson and orange sky, was truly a sight to behold.

Soon after, the trio warped back home. Due to the time difference, it was well into the middle of the night when they returned, so, unfortunately for Greg, there was no time for him to give Parvati a foot rub right away, as she decided to go straight to bed. Same with Trish, so he decided to retire for the night as well.

That was two months ago.

Greg stood up on the couch's cushion. Looking at the clock, Parvati would be home any minute now. He made his way to the edge of the giant couch, and began to climb down to the floor. Once there, he began to make his way into the front hallway.

As luck would have it, as Greg walked into main hallway, he heard the front door unlock, and soon open. He looked towards the now opening door, and sure enough, Parvati walked inside of the house. Noticing him right away, she closed the door behind her and walked up to him.

"Good afternoon, my pet," Parvati said with a smile. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing much," Greg responded. "Just reminiscing about stuff."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah. ...So, how was your day?"

"The same as always. Loads of work, my boss being a headache, people calling in for petty reasons; the usual." She sighed.

"Glad to be home, though, right?" Greg said as he approached her sandal-clad left foot.

"Of course. Plus, it's the weekend, so I can rest easy. ...And entertain you, of course."

"Perfect," Greg said cheerfully.

"Grab on," she said as she pointed to the foot that Greg had neared. "I'm sure you were going into the room, so you'll get there faster this way."

"You're truly a Goddess," Greg said.

Parvati giggled. "I know that, my loyal pet."

Greg then climbed onto her foot, and grabbed ahold of the straps of her sandal. Once he was in place, Parvati began to make the trek into her room. One that would take mere seconds for her, but would take much longer for someone of his size.

It had been a bit over half a year since that fateful night, when he had first met Parvati in that nightclub. In that time, he had his deepest desire, to be shrunken down by a beautiful woman, fulfilled; a dream that he had once believed was impossible. He had experienced many more amazing things thanks to both Parvati and her roommate and best friend Trish. Luckily, he had not seen Lily in that time, and from what Parvati and Trish told him, he planned to keep it that way.

Despite the possible danger of Lily, Greg was completely satisfied with his current, maybe even new life. Sure, he had many friends and his own life before he met Parvati, but to indulge in his deepest fantasy was worth the trade off of possibly never seeing his friends and family again.

He was determined to make the best out of his new life, for as long as he could.

~~~

Heidi walked down the marble road, feeling the cold stones pressing against her bare feet. A young woman with shoulder-length blond hair, and a small pink flower on the side of her head in her hair, she wore a white summer dress that exposed both her arms and her knees. Such attire would be considered somewhat odd for someone in the Aurora Realm, especially when one would consider her rank.

As she walked, she looked towards the sky. Unlike in the Human Realm, the Aurora Realm's sky always seemed watery, and its color constantly shifted and changed as if it were face-to-face with the northern lights of the Human Realm's polar regions. Such a sight would be a bit unnerving to first-time visiters to this realm.

Suddenly, sparkling dust began to gather in her path. She stopped walking as the particles took shape into a robed humanoid figure, complete with their head covered by a dark hood. Though she could see that this figure's skin was a greyish color: not unlike one of the Head Witches' errand-running dolls.

"Ms. Light," the doll said with a deep, male voice.

"What is it?" Heidi asked.

"The Council wants you to make a report on these two." He handed her a sheet of paper.

Heidi looked down at the paper she held in her hand, then back to the hooded man. "Is that all?"

"Yes," he responded. "I shall be on my way now, Ms. Light."

In an instant, the man disappeared in the same manner that he arrived: by disintegrating into a dust of sparking particles that was soon blown away by some force not unlike wind.

Heidi looked down at the sheet once more. On it were protraits of two young women, with their names and address. Only one address was listed, as they lived in the same house.

"Parvati Singh... Trish Hubbard... It has been a while since I've seen them. I guess I could visit them as a cover for this report."

Heidi stepped out of the interdimensional tunnel, and onto the pavement of the Human Realm. The world around her was frozen in time, and had no color except for black-and-white, as if it were a movie from the 30s. However, as the portal behind her closed, the scenery regained its color and became alive with life again.

Looking around, she remembered how vibrant this world was. It had been a while since she had last been here, as her duties in the Aurora Realm took up most of her time. She almost wished that she could take a break from her work and explore this world like she used to, before she became a General Witch.

Unfortunately, that would have to wait for now. She had a task to do.

"Let's see," she said. "They don't live far from here." She looked upward, towards the sun in the clear blue sky. "It's past 1pm. I wonder if they're even home."

She shrugged, and began to walk down the sidewalk. Unlike the cold stones on the roads in the Aurora Realm, the pavement was quite warm on her bare feet. She missed that sensation, of the warm pavement on her soles.

"Perfect," Greg said to himself as he looked at himself in the mirror. Or, more specifically, his new dreadlocks.

He had tired of the cornrows that had been in his hair since before he met Parvati. So, before she left for her job that morning, he asked her to alter his hair, which she did. Of course, he had to sacrifice his playtime with her feet, but he knew that he would get his fun in with her later.

"What would my life be like without her?" He said to himself. "She makes things so easy, so fun. I never thought I would ever meet a real life witch, let alone one who would easily give me what I want. ...Oh! But I don't wanna get carried away with that. It should be 50/50, so I guess I gotta do stuff for her as well." He chuckled to himself. "I don't mind that at all. After all, she's my Goddess-"

Suddenly, he heard the doorbell sound throughout the house. Soon after, he heard footsteps off in the distance, footsteps that belonged to Trish, who was still unemployed and spending much of her time around the house. No doubt that she had gone to see who was at the door.

He listened closely. He heard voices. Two voices, both belonging to females. One of them was Trish, of course, but he did not recognize the second voice. Nor could he make out what it was that they were saying to each other. Could it be Lily, whom Parvati had warned him about?

His curiosity setting in again, and despite Parvati's warnings about her, he made his way for his dollhouse's front door, and soon exited out of his humble abode and into the darkness underneath Parvati's bed.

Soon, he had arrived into the back hallway. The voices had become louder and clearer. He moved to the wall on the left, and stood flatly against it as he edged his way towards the kitchen doorway. As he did so, he listened in on the conversation that was going on in there.

"So, why now?" Trish asked. "What, did they have a hat drawing or something, and our names came up?"

"Yeah," the unfamiliar female replied. "Something like that."

"What did we do?"

"Nothing. At least, nothing the Witch's Council knows of."

With that last statement, Greg now knew that the unknown female was a witch as well. And from the sounds of things, she seemed to be from the other side, the Aurora Realm. She sounded as if she was someone with a bit of authority in the Aurora Realm, so any thoughts of Trish's guest being Lily had been washed away.

However, did that mean that he could just reveal himself to this woman? Would he get Parvati and Trish in trouble with the council? ...Maybe not, since Parvati had told him before that, since he was a willing participant, she belonged to him in the eyes of the Head Witches or any other authority.

"So, how long are you going to be here?" Trish asked.

"Oh, just a few days," the woman responded. "At most. I'm a busy girl, you know?"

"Are you ever NOT busy? I mean, the last time I saw you was last year, right after I got my powers!"

"...Sorry about that, but I couldn't help it. The Head Witches can't ever leave the Aurora Realm, you know, so it's us General Witches who carry out their orders in this world."

Greg finally reached the kitchen doorway and peeked inside. Trish stood against the kitchen counter, fidgeting with her new pair of glasses on her face. She wore a pair of blue jeans, a grey hoodie jacket, and white socks. Sitting at the table was a woman with short blond hair and wearing a sleeveless white sundress. She was sitting with her back turned against the doorway, so he could not see her face. However, he could see the soles of her feet underneath the chair. They were somewhat dirty, as if she had not been wearing any kind of footwear. He winced. Despite his fetish, he was never one for dirty feet.

"...In other worlds, you're just a puppet for the Head Witches," Trish said.

"Please don't say that," the blond woman retorted. "I'm proud of what I do."

"Riiight..." Trish rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You wouldn't catch me dead working for those old bats."

The woman sighed. "Your mouth is going to get you in trouble one day."

"They can't stop me for being who I am."

"No, but they can excommunicate you. Would you want that?"

"...No."

"Then you'd best watch yourself."

"Mm." Trish looked towards the doorway, and from the look on her face, she seemed to have seen Greg peeking through.

Immediately, Greg drew his head back into the hall, but remained against the wall to continue listening in on the two women.

"Hey, could you wait here for a sec?" Trish quickly suggested.

"What's wrong?" The blond woman asked, with a hint of suspicion on her voice.

"I just remembered that I was downloading a huge file on my computer. I need to see how far it's gotten."

"Oh."

Greg then heard footsteps approaching the doorway. He tried to run back towards Parvati's bedroom, but he soon found himself being grabbed off of the floor by giant hands.

"Hey!" he blurted out.

"Be quiet," the owner of those hands, Trish, quietly ordered.

Greg watched as he was then carried down the hallway and into Trish's bedroom, which was still as messy as it had always been. After entering inside, Trish pushed the door closed with her foot, and then walked to her bed. She then set Greg down onto it.

"Didn't Par tell you to not come out when we have company?" Trish seemed a bit aggrivated. "Geez."

"Yeah, but that woman out there is a witch, right?" Greg responded. "So I don't think it'd be so bad if I showed up."

"That doesn't matter. You're supposed to do what Par says."

"Who is that, anyway?"

"Her name is Heidi, and she's a General Witch. She's a bit serious, but you'd probably like her anyway. She a hippie, and she's ALWAYS barefoot."

"Yeah, I saw." Greg sat down on the bed. "Her feet were dirty. I don't like that."

"...That's surprising, coming from you."

"Anyway, what is she doing here?"

"...She's going to be watching me and Par for a few days."

"For what?"

"I guess you could say that the Head Witches want to keep tabs on us to see that we're not abusing our powers." Trish pulled her glasses off from her face. "She didn't tell me all this right away, just that she was visiting us. Yeah, right... You disappear for almost a year and then, out of the blue, you come and visit us with no advance word? Yeah... Par told me about her job in the Aurora Realm when we first met, so I knew that she had ulterior motives, and I called her out on it."

"Okay..."

"I don't know how she'd react if she saw you, though. I think it'd be better if you hid away until at least Par comes home."

"Why? Parvati said before that I'm her property now, since I went with her willingly. That should be okay with the Head Witches, right?"

"Yeah, it should, but... I just don't want to risk it." Trish placed her glasses back on her face. "So, you can hide out here until Par comes home."

"Here? It's boring in here. Plus, I don't know what kind of vermin could be lurking in all of these clothes on the floor."

Trish sighed. "Fine. I'll take you back to Par's room. But you better stay in there, alright?!"

Greg nodded. "Okay."

Trish picked him up from her bed with her right hand, and then carried him towards the door. She opened it, but as soon as the door was halfway open, she gasped, and quickly hid her right hand, with Greg in it, behind her.

"H-Heidi!" Trish said in a surprised tone. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just got here," Heidi responded. "...What are you hiding behind your back?"

"Just a book."

"Okay. And why does a book require hiding?"

"It's..." Trish paused for a second, most likely fabricating a lie in her head. "It's a horror book. With a cover so scary that you'll die just looking at it!"

There was a few seconds of silence, before Trish spoke again.

"...You're not buying that, are you?"

"Obviously not," Heidi responded.

Trish sighed, and Greg soon found himself being moved from behind Trish. She then opened her palm, and held her hand out in front of her. After regaining his balance, Greg turned towards Trish's doorway, and looked upon Heidi's face for the first time.

Heidi was a rather attractive young woman with bright green eyes. She seemed to be around the same age as Trish, give or take a year. In her hair, on the right side of her head, was a pink flower, most likely a barrette from what he could tell.

She stared at him, with a serious look on her face. For a second, it was as if she was trying to figure out what exactly he was. She shook her head, and then looked back towards Trish.

"Is this why you left in such a hurry?" Heidi asked her.

"Yeah," Trish responded in a defeated tone.

"...How long has he been here?"

"About seven months now."

Heidi looked back down towards him. "What's your name?"

"Greg," Greg responded. "...I already know yours, Heidi."

"That's right," Heidi said. "I see that Trish told you at least that."

"Hey, listen," Greg said. "Don't write them up for me being here. Parvati said that it was okay."

Heidi sighed. "That rule about it being okay for witches to do what they wish to humans so long as the human is a willing participant? Yeah, I know all about that rule. I see it all the time in my work. ...I also see just how bad things can get."

"Don't worry. If I ever want out, Parvati would let me go. She said so herself one time. I'd still have fond memories of the time I spent with them. Plus, I'm sure that I could visit them anytime I wanted."

Heidi shook her head. "...No, you won't."

"What do you mean?" Greg asked.

"I see that Parvati hasn't told you that small bit, did she?"

Greg looked up towards Trish, who was also looking back down on him.

"Once you're released from this 'playtime,'" Heidi said, "Parvati would have to erase your memories."

Greg quickly turned back towards Heidi. "What?!" he exclaimed in a shocked tone.

"Everything that has anything to do with the witches and what you experienced here would be wiped from your mind. So, all you would have left are seven months of darkness."

"That's..." Greg stepped closer to Heidi. "Well... What if I decided to stay with her forever?"

"If she wants it, then there would be nothing stopping her."

"Great!"

"...Unless I say so."

"...But what about that rule-"

"There have been times where I've annulled that rule during my other observations. I could easily do the same here."

"NO!!" Greg blurted out.

"Why not?" Heidi asked.

"Parvati has changed my life for the better," Greg said. "After being what I've been through, why would I want to go back to my normal life? Plus, Parvati likes having me around. I'm her little pet, so ripping me away from her wouldn't sit well with her either."

"I don't care if she doesn't like it," Heidi said. "She would have to do what I said, no questions asked. Disobedience against a General Witch can have dire consequences."

"...Out of curiosity, how many lives have you shattered since you-"

Trish quickly wrapped her fingers around his body and then shoved him into her pants pocket. As her hand withdrew, Greg sat down inside and listened at the follow conversation through the fabric of Trish's blue jean pants.

"His mouth is almost as bad as yours," Heidi said, a bit irked. "Why is he so small, anyway? Isn't he liable to get stepped on like that?"

"You don't have to worry about that. Par made him super-tough. You could step on him all day, and he wouldn't squish. In fact, he'd like that."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He has a huge foot fetish. He plays with Par's feet all the time. He does mine sometimes, too, when I feel like it."

Heidi was silent.

"Don't give me that look," Trish said.

"I'm sorry, but I thought you had him around as a little cleaner or helper," Heidi responded. "I didn't think that you kept him around as a sex toy."

"Hey, it's not like we use him as a living dildo. Plus, he does help around the house when we need him to."

Heidi sighed. "I'm going to have to talk with Parvati over this as well. In the meantime, I'll put this in the report. Whether it's safe or not, I still have to make note of it for the Council."

Greg heard footsteps leave the room, but stop a few seconds later.

"When will Parvati be back?" Heidi asked.

"Should be in a few hours," Trish answered.

"Until she arrives, I'll be waiting in the backyard." Heidi's footsteps then continued, until Greg could no longer hear them. Off in the distance, he heard a door open, and then close.

Then, Trish's hand reached into her pocket, and pulled Greg out of it. She brought him to her face.

"She's going out to be with 'nature'," Trish said. "Frikkin' hippie."

"What now?" Greg asked.

"We wait for Par to come home. ...I don't know how she'd react seeing her here."

"...You said that I'd probably like her."

"Let me guess... You don't?"

"Exactly."

~~~

In the living room, Greg sat on the coffee table, and Trish on the couch behind him, as the both of them watched television. It was nearing 5pm, and they were waiting for Parvati to arrive home. Heidi was still in the backyard, but Trish said that she would know instantly when Parvati came home.

Soon, they heard a car pull up outside, and then its door shut.

"Here she comes..." Greg said to himself.

Sure enough, the front door opened, and Parvati walked in. The reddish-dye in her hair had since been washed out, instead revealing her natural dark brown color. She wore a blue jacket over a white tank-top, white capris, and blue flip-flops.

"Good afternoon, guys," she greeted, before noticing their somewhat concerned looks on their face. "...What's going on?"

"We have a guest," Trish answered.

"Who?" Parvati asked.

As soon as she asked that, she heard the door in the kitchen open, and then close. She looked into the kitchen, and let out a small gasp.

"Heidi!" Parvati said in surprise.

"Hello, Parvati," Heidi said as she walked into the living room, and then turned to face her. "Long time no see. ...Why don't you have a seat near Trish? I have a few things I want to ask you."

Parvati slowly nodded, and walked to the couch that Trish was sitting on, and sat down next to her. Heidi then pointed towards the television, and a bolt of magic shot from her index finger. Once the magc hit the television, it switched off. Heidi then walked to the chair to the left of the couch, and sat down in it, crossing her legs in the process.

"First off," Heidi started, before looking towards Greg. "Explain that."

Parvati sighed. "I met him in a nightclub several months ago. We came back here, and after finding out his kinks, if you will, I decided to grant his deepest wish. After all, he seemed like a nice guy... and he is."

"I'd imagine that you, of all people, would be more careful of who you revealed your powers too."

"Oh, believe me, I WAS careful. I made sure that he did not ever leave this house. I cut off all of his contact with the outside world."

"What about his friends? His family?"

"I've taken care of that as well."

"I see..."

"What brings you here, anyway?" Parvati asked. "After all of this time, I can't imagine that you're just visiting."

Trish turned towards Parvati. "She's going to be watching us for a few days."

"Really? Why?"

"That's what the Council wants me to do," Heidi answered. "As a General Witch, I can't refuse any request from them."

Greg looked towards Parvati. She seemed to have a concerned look on her face as she listened to Heidi.

"Trish told me what you have him do with your feet, of all things," Heidi said. "...Once again, I misjudged you."

"What I do is more for him than it is for me," Parvati answered. "That said, I've grown to enjoy it, and he does give nice massages."

"Damn right I do!" Greg blurted out.

"Quiet," Parvati ordered him.

Greg backed away slightly, feeling a bit shamed.

"Is your relationship with Greg sexual?" Heidi asked.

"No," Parvati answered. "We only had sex once, and that was the night we met."

"Is he always that small?"

"Yes. It makes him easier to control."

"Hm." Heidi stood up from her seat. "Okay... I'm going to stay here for a few days, as Trish said. I want to see just how Greg lives with you both. If I don't like what I see, then all of this is over. Got it?"

Parvati and Trish nodded.

"Wonderful," Heidi said, with a slight smile, though her serious demeanor remained. "I'm going back outside for a few more minutes." With that, Heidi walked out of the living room, and back out the backdoor.

Greg turned towards Parvati and Trish, who were both looking at him.

"So... What now?" Greg asked.

"We have to be on our best behavior," Parvati answered while folding her arms. "You two especially."

"Why me?" Greg asked. "What did I do?"

"It's not what you did," Parvati said. "It's what you're prone to do. I don't want you playing with her like you do with Trish and I."

"He hates dirty feet," Trish said, "so I don't think you have to worry about him humping Heidi's feet."

Greg twitched. "That is totally the wrong term."

"Good," Parvati said, before addressing Greg. "Unless she specifically calls for you, I want you to stay away from her."

"Okay, I will," Greg responded.

"Oh, and one more thing," Parvati added. "Your playtime with the girls will be cut until Heidi leaves."

"What?!" Greg shouted. "Oh, come on...!"

"Notice that I said 'cut', not eliminated." She smiled slyly. "You'll still get your time with them, don't worry. Just not as much."

"Okay..." A disappointed Greg said.

"It's only for a few days," Parvati said. "I'm sure you can handle it."

"Do I have a choice?" Greg asked.

"No."

Trish stood up from the couch, and stretched her arms. "I'm going to get something to eat." She then stepped over Parvati's legs, and then walked out of the living room.

Parvati unfolded her arms and stood up as well. She then grabbed Greg off of the table, and then began to carry him out of the living room, into the kitchen, and then into the back hallway. On the way, they passed Trish as she was searching through the refrigerator.

"By the way," Parvati said to Greg in her hands. "Make sure you watch where you're going. I don't want her to step on you."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Greg responded. "Trish already said, I hate dirty feet."

"Yes, but even Heidi washes her feet. When that happens, you might be tempted."

"I swear, I won't do anything with her feet."

Parvati giggled. "Let's see how long you can keep that up."

"...It's only a few days."

"A lot can happen in a few days," Parvati replied as she opened her bedroom door and walked inside.

Greg stared at Parvati, before she walked to her bed, and set him on the floor on the side of it. He looked at her once more, before she pushed him with her foot underneath her bed. As her foot withdrew, he started to walk towards his dollhouse.

Heidi... The young woman who came from the Aurora Realm to watch them... Would she allow him to remain with Parvati and Trish, and continue living out his deepest dreams? Or would she put all of it to a sudden stop, leaving him with nothing but seven months worth of empty memories?

Only the next few days would tell. In the meantime, he was determined to stay out of Heidi's sight.

Greg sat on the couch in his dollhouse's living room, flipping through TV channels with the remote in his hands. It had been nearly three hours since Parvati had come home, and he was already bored. Indeed, Heidi's arrival had put a damper on his usual daily plans; she knew about his fascination with feet, but would she actually like seeing him indulge himself?

The good thing was that it would only be for a few days. He figured that now would be a great time to practice some form of self-control; self-control he had boatloads of back in his "normal" life, but seemed to have lost most of during his time here.

"...No," Greg said to himself. "Who am I kidding? I can't withhold myself from Parvati. She's just... beautiful."

Greg flipped the TV off and then set the remote onto the coffee table in front of him. Then, he stood up and walked out of the room and then out of the dollhouse. As he walked towards the open floor, he wondered where Heidi was. He had not heard from her since she had confronted Parvati a few hours earlier. He knew that she was not in the room; that he could take solace in.

He stepped out of the shadow of Parvati's bed and looked around the room. The door was open, but Parvati was nowhere to be found. Greg assumed that she must be out in one of the other parts of the house. ...Probably with Heidi as well.

"...I guess I'll wait for Parvati to come back," Greg said, before turning around and starting to walk back towards his dollhouse.

Soon, he heard footsteps approaching the bedroom. He stopped and looked towards the open doorway. He was expecting to see Parvati step through the doorway in a matter of seconds.

Unfortunately, he was greatly disappointed when, instead, Heidi entered into the room. She seemed to spot him immediately as he began to run towards Parvati's bed.

"There you are," Heidi said.

Greg heard her walking closer to him. He knew that there was no escape, as she could easily pull him out from under the bed if she wanted to. Therefore, he stopped in his tracks, and turned to face the approaching woman.

"I thought I would see you out there with your 'owner'," Heidi said as she stopped in front of him. Like the other women, she towered over him like a tall skyscraper.

"I was busy," Greg responded.

"Oh really? Doing what?"

"...Uh... Well... I was watching a TV show."

"What show?"

"Is that important?"

Heidi folded her arms. "I already know that you're lying. Aside from the fact that you were obviously thinking of something to tell me, Trish told me that you're usually at Parvati's feet at this time."

"Ahh..." Greg sighed. "I just don't want to do my usual stuff when you're around. You got kinda pissed off when you found out what the girls use me for, so I figured that seeing it in action would send you over the edge."

"I doubt it would. I've seen much more disturbing things in my career."

"I bet you have, but I still don't want to do anything around you."

"I'm sure you will eventually. If Parvati wants you to."

"She wouldn't do that."

"How do you know?"

"'Cuz she told me that my time with her would be cut."

"Is that right? ...We'll see about that." Heidi then unfolded her arms, and then walked out of the bedroom.

Greg stared at the open doorway for a few seconds. As he stood there, he wondered what Heidi meant by her last statement. Did she have a plan to make him lose himself in her presence? That was something that he did not want her to see. At all.

With nothing else to do, he turned around and headed back towards his dollhouse. He knew that Parvati would be back eventually, so until then, he would wait patiently in his house.

~~~

Greg laid on his bed, having awoken from his nap. He looked towards the digital clock on his nightstand. It read 10:39pm. He could not believe that he had been asleep for that long. The lamp in his room was switched off, so nearly the entire room was bathed in darkness. Though through the windows, the light from the much larger bedroom outside shone in a bit.

He sat up and stood up from his bed. He found his brown Timberland boots nearby and placed them onto his feet. Then, he headed out of his room and was soon once again outside of his dollhouse.

He stepped out into the open bedroom. The door was closed, at least from what he could see.

"You're up."

Greg turned behind himself, and saw Parvati laying on her bed with a hardcover book opened in her hands.

"You knew I was sleep?" Greg asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I can see into your house when I want to."

Greg silently stared at her in slight belief. He should have expected it, being that she is magic, but the idea of her being able to spy on him anytime she wanted did not sit well with him.

Parvati smiled. "I'm kidding."

Greg breathed a sigh of relief.

"I called you, and you didn't come out, so I just guessed that you were sleep. I guessed right."

"Where's Heidi?" Greg asked.

"Out there with Trish," Parvati answered. "At least, she was the last time I saw them."

"Good. ...Could I get a lift up there?"

Parvati nodded, and moved her right leg from the bed and placed her foot on the floor near Greg. He walked towards it, and then stepped onto it and held onto her leg as she pulled her foot back onto her bed.

She then placed her book down besides her, keeping it open so that she did not lose her place, and reached for him and grabbed him from her foot.

"Hey, is Heidi always like that?" Greg asked as she drew him closer to her face. "All serious and stuck-up like that?"

Parvati nodded. "I've only met her three times before today. She can be a nice person, but she's all about her work."

"Are you two friends?"

"Kinda. She's an acquaintance, that's for sure, but I don't know her as well as I should. She keeps her private life secret. I don't know where she was born, or even how old she is."

"Really? That's odd."

Parvati shrugged. "I never really had any good reason to ask her about even the simpliest things about her."

"You don't need a reason just to ask her where she was born, or when."

"Yes I do. With her I do."

"I wonder what she has to hide about herself?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to push it with her. I don't want to get on a General Witch's bad side, acquaintance or not."

"Hmm..." Greg sat down in her palm. "Hey, Heidi also told me something else."

"What was that?"

"She said that if I ever leave here, you would have to erase my memories."

Parvati nodded. "That's right."

"How come you never told me about that?" Greg became a bit agitated.

"I thought it was better that you didn't know."

"But..." Greg stood up. "That's not fair! Over seven months here, and if I left, what would I have to show for it?!"

"Nothing," Parvati answered.

"Exactly! Couldn't you just leave my memories alone? I promise that I would never tell anyone about this."

"Greg," Parvati said, "are you worried that Heidi might send you home?"

"Yeah! You saw how she reacted when she found out about what you and I do, right?!"

"Yes, I did. But don't worry too much about it."

"How can I not worry about it?!"

Bending her legs in archs, Parvati laid Greg on her bed, between her feet.

"Maybe I should calm you down a little," she said in a cunning tone.

Her left foot lifted from the soft mattress and hovered over Greg. He did not try to move even an inch; he merely waited there for the feel of her bare sole on his body. He did not have to wait long, as a second or two later, her foot descended on top of him, and began to press him into the mattress.

He had been waiting for this moment all day. The moment when he would have his fun with Parvati's feet, despite what she had said earlier. It may now be late at night, but better late than never, he figured.

"You know," said Parvati, her voice muffled through the flesh of her foot, "I miss when you would actually struggle and run. I know that you were faking... or rather, acting, but it was fun chasing you down."

As his face was buried in her sole, Greg remembered one such time that Parvati was refering to. Three months ago, when he pretended to be a food thief in the kitchen. She "found" him in there, and began chasing and stomping after him. He tried hiding under the table, behing the potted plant, and in other places, but he just could not escape. In the end, he was caught, and stepped on; with the combination of the hard-tiled floor and the sandals she was wearing at the time, it was quite painful. And yet, he had fun, and so did Parvati.

He pulled his head as far back as he could, and began to kiss her sole. It was all that he could do at that point, as the force she was exerting on his body made it somewhat hard for him to move his arms.

After several seconds, her foot withdrew from his body, and set down beside him.

"That's all for tonight," Parvati said.

Greg sat up, disappointed and a bit confused. "Why? I was just getting started."

"What did I tell you earlier? You're not going to have as much time with me as you usually would."

Greg dropped his head and let out a sigh. "I'm starting to wish that I should have gotten my time in this morning instead of asking for my dreads..."

Parvati leaned closer to him. "Just wait, my pet. Once Heidi leaves, you'll be able to have as much as you want to with my feet. It's only a few days."

"I know, but I might go into withdrawal before then."

Parvati giggled. "Maybe I should enroll you in Foot Lovers Anonymous," she joked.

"Maybe you shouldn't!" Greg retorted, before standing up, walking around Parvati's right foot, and heading for the edge of her bed.

"Going to bed?" Parvati asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Let me help you down, then."

Suddenly, Greg found himself gripped between the big and second toes of Parvati's left foot as she turned her body on her bed to her right, and then set Greg onto the floor. He was released from her hold, and gained his footing on the floor as he turned to face her.

"Consider that a bonus," she said, smiling at him.

"...Thank you," Greg said.

She nodded. "Oh, and one more thing before you go. You're going to have a bit of a surprise tonight."

"Really?" Greg became curious. "What is it?"

"That would ruin the surprise."

"Can I get a hint?"

"No. You'll find out soon enough." She then stood from her bed.

"Where are you going?" Greg asked.

"Out there. Do you want to come with me instead?"

Greg shook his head.

"Oh. Okay, then." She bent down and patted him on his head. "Good night, my pet," she said with a warm smile.

"You too, my Goddess," Greg responded.

Parvati giggled a bit, before standing upright and walking over him. Greg watched as she opened the door, or rather pull it open as it did not look to be closed completely. Then, she walked out of the room, this time completely closing the door behind her.

He then walked back under her bed, towards his dollhouse. During his trek, he could not shake his disappointment. While he did indeed get to indulge himself, it was severely limited from what he was accustomed to. Of course, all of the blame for that went straight to Heidi. He really could not wait until she left the house.

"She's cute," Greg said to himself, "but she's ruining everything. ...I'd tolerate her more if she cleaned her feet..."

Greg sighed as he approached his dollhouse's front door.

~~~

Parvati stepped out of her bedroom, and closed the door behind her. She leaned her back against it, and then sighed.

"What did you think, Heidi?" she asked quietly.

She looked towards her left, towards Heidi, who had shrunken herself down to a similar scale as Greg, and was levitating in the air at head level. Parvati had left the door cracked slightly open so that Heidi could watch what happened in the bedroom a few minutes ago. It was all Heidi's idea, and she had no choice but to comply.

"You didn't do much with him," Heidi said.

"Well, I did say earlier that he wouldn't have as much time with my feet as he usually would. He would think it weird that I went back on my word so fast."

"True... Anyway, all I saw was a young woman playing with a toy in there. Or maybe a pet, as you called him. Either way, I don't see a problem. Not yet, anyway."

"Good." Parvati breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't get too comfortable. This was only the first day."

"Right..."

"Parvati," Heidi called. "You should have expected this when you saw me here. Hell, you should have expected this from the beginning. If not me, then another Head Witch. Some are even less forgiving than I am, and they loathe that rule of owning human. They could have ended your 'fun' with Greg as soon as they saw him."

"I know... But I just wanted to let him live his dream. But if it ever came to it..." Parvati paused for a second. "I'm fully prepared to send him home if you order me to."

"Good."

Heidi floated several feet in front of Parvati, and then began to glow with a white light. She began to rapidly grow until she stood at her original height of 5-foot-4.

"One more thing," Heidi said.

Parvati stepped away from the door and walked a bit closer to Heidi. "What?"

"How exactly did you 'take care' of Greg's life outside of here?"

"...Can you promise me that you won't tell Greg this?"

"Sure, but why don't you want him to know how his friends and family are responding to him being gone for so long?"

"I have my reasons. ...In fact, let's talk about this outside. I don't want to risk him hearing me here."

"Fine."

Parvati pointed towards her feet, and a bolt of magic shot from her index finger and engulfed her feet. The light faded, revealing blue sandals that were now on her feet. Then, both she and Heidi walked into the kitchen, and out of the backdoor there and into the darkness of the backyard.

~~~

Laying in his bed, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, Greg found himself being awakened for some unknown reason. The light in the bedroom was on, which was odd as he switched it off before going to sleep. As he opened his eyes, his vision was soon taken over by the image of a blond-haired, green-eyed woman.

"Oh God!" He jumped back as he realized that the person he was looking at was none other than Heidi. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Don't take that tone with me," Heidi scolded. "I'm here to ask you a few things."

"Can this wait?" Greg looked towards his digital clock. It read 2:48am. "It'll be morning in a few hours."

"I could, but I don't want to."

"Sheesh..." Greg sat up and moved to the side of the bed.

"If I were to put an end to this right now," Heidi started, "would you be prepared to go back to your old life?"

"I wouldn't have a choice, would I? But having a big space in my life would bug me."

"Your memories?"

"Yes."

"Mm. I think you'd do just fine."

"How do you know?"

"Next question." Heidi quickly changed the subject. "Let's say that I didn't end this. Do you plan to live with Parvati forever?"

"Yes," Greg answered. "I've come this far, I might as well stick it out until the end. After all, if seven months of no memories would bug me, just think about 5 years. Or 10. And so on."

"But what if Parvati gets married?"

"Ahh..." The prospect of Parvati finding another man to spend her life with was one that Greg had never put much thought into. It was not like she even dated anyone in the time he's been here, either.

"Did you really think that Parvati would put her life on hold to fulfill your fetishes?"

"I kinda hoped that she did..."

"Selfish. So, if she did ever get married, AND she kept you, what makes you think that her husband wouldn't use you to his hearts content? Or even torture you?"

"That's..." Greg shook his head. "No. Parvati wouldn't let that happen to me! She'd protect me. Or hide me from him."

"She couldn't protect you forever. Plus, married couples go through each other's stuff all of the time. How long do you think it'd be before he found you? ...Parvati would probably get rid of you before she got married. It'd save her a lot of grief, not being torn between her husband and living doll for the rest of her life."

"Heidi," Greg stood up. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"I just think that it would be better off that you didn't get too much more used to this," Heidi answered. "I still haven't decided if I'm going to let Parvati keep you here yet. And if I did, I'm letting you know that even then, you may not even be able to stay with her."

"Then could I at least keep my memories of what happened here?" Greg asked. "Since you're a General Witch, could you make an exception?"

"No. Sorry, but I don't make the rules. Once you leave, your memories are wiped."

"Then what's the point?!" Greg blurted out. "Everything I've been through here... I couldn't even relive them in my mind! Don't you think that'd be robbery of the worst kind?"

"Look, Greg," Heidi said, folding her arms. "Parvati's mainly at fault for revealing her powers to you for such a trivial reason, but the second you stepped into our world, you began to walk a dangerous, uncertain path. Humans tend become drunk on the power that their witch friend, lover, what-have-you has. We witches are supposed to be secret. After all, the public already believes that we're just a fairy tale. But if humans learn of us, and try to exploit us, likesay a major world leader marries a witch and use her powers for his own ends, then the world could very well be engulfed in a kind of war that has never been seen in history."

"But I'm not like those other humans," Greg said. "I would never use Parvati like that."

"I've heard that before," Heidi said. "In fact, in one of my more recent assignments, I met a human who was living with his witch girlfriend. They looked like a fairly normal couple... Until I overheard them planning to use magic to overthrow the government and create a dictatorship where witches could freely use their powers. It was mainly the human's idea, but he seemed to sway his girlfriend towards his way of thinking. Before this could go any further, I erased the human's memories and sent him back to his 'normal' life. I then warned the witch to never use her powers to carry out the man's plans, or she'll face the full wrath of the Aurora Realm military."

"Wow..." Greg was stunned. "All of that for one witch? Couldn't just one of you handle her easily?"

"The Head Witches consider a potential upheaval of any Human Realm government at the hands of a witch a serious offense. The perpetrator could have her powers removed... Or worse."

"Worse? You mean... They kill her?"

Heidi unfolded her arms and headed for the bedroom doorway. She stopped halfway there, and turned back towards him. "By the way, I'm going to be living here with you."

Greg's mouth dropped in shock. "What?! Why?!"

"There's no more rooms in the bigger house, and I don't like sharing a room with anyone."

"Can't you make a tent in the backyard?"

"No. I don't want to draw too much attention from the neighbors. Besides, this house is much like the one out there, and it's not like you're using the other bedroom." Heidi walked towards the door, and before she stepped out, she said, "Now, try to get some sleep."

She flipped the switch on the light switch near the doorway, which then cloaked the room in darkness. Heidi then walked out of the room, closing the door as she left.

Greg laid back on his bed, and grunted as he covered his eyes with his right hand. After what Heidi had told him, it seemed that it did not matter whether she let him stay here or not, as sometime down the line, he would be sent back to his old life with not even a shred of knowledge as to what went on within these walls. That worried him, not being able to relive those moments in his mind any time he wanted.

In a way, he hated Heidi for bringing all of this up in such short time. He wished that he could have stayed away from her for the rest of the time she was here.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he would be closer to Heidi than he had originally planned.

~~~

Irene stepped out of the cab that she had hired, and onto the sidewalk outside of the local post office. She watched the cab drive off down the street, and then looked around herself at the scenery as it was bathed in the light of early dawn.

She lightened her fingerless gloves on her hands, and made sure that her two-inch platform boots were tightly fastened. Then, she ran her fingers through her dyed blue hair and chuckled devilishly.

"No doubt about it," she said. "Heidi is somewhere in this town. She messed everything up. Everything me and Kevin had planned. ...Well, I'll show her."

Indeed, Irene was determined to convince Heidi that she was wrong, that witches are the ones who should be ruling the world, not humans. , She had been waiting for Heidi to show herself again since she had put a stop to her ambitions, having since trained herself to sense out the aura signiture of witches, and now that she appeared in a town close to her hometown, she felt it necessary to make her trek here to confront her.

She looked down both directions of the sidewalk, before she started to walk down the left path. With each step, Heidi's faint aura signiture became slightly stronger.

Heidi sat at the kitchen table, sipping tea out of her mug, as she stared out of the kitchen window and into the morning sky outside. It was nearing 8am, and despite the fact that she only got a few hours of sleep overnight, she was not drowsy in the least.

She looked to her side, and saw Trish walk from the back hallway and into the kitchen. She headed for the refrigerator, and opened its door, then pulled out a carton of orange juice, opened it, and began to chug down its contents directly from the carton.

"Trish," Heidi called. "Why don't you get a cup?"

Trish pulled the carton away from her mouth, and looked towards Heidi. "What for?"

"Don't other people drink from that carton? That's rude to them."

"Well, the runt has his own stuff in his house. Plus, I doubt that he could even open this fridge. Par barely drinks OJ at all. So that just leaves you, Ms. General Witch."

"...I'm drinking tea right now."

"There, see?! It's all good! I'm not hurting anyone!" Trish then began to drink out of the carton again, before closing it and putting it back into the refrigerator. Then, she let out a small burp.

"You're an animal," Heidi stated.

"Whatever." Trish shrugged.

Heidi took another sip of her tea. "You look like you're going out today." She took notice to the clothes that she was wearing: the same grey hoodie jacket from yesterday, blue jeans, and white sneakers.

"Yeah," Trish answered. "I'm still trying to find some place to hire me, but with the way the economy is..."

"Why don't you go to college? Then, when you finish, you'll have more opportunities available to you."

Trish shook her head. "No. I barely made it out of high school. Why would I want to spend another 4 years learning stuff that I'll just forget about sooner or later? Plus, the costs are insane."

"There're community colleges, and trade schools, and the like. They can finish up in just two years."

"I think I can get by just fine how I am now."

Heidi sighed. "Fine. Do what you want with your life. Just don't come crying to me when you end up a failure."

Trish tilted her head slightly. "Do you have that little faith in me?"

"You have no idea," Heidi starkly answered.

Trish sighed, and headed for the kitchen doorway leading into the front hall.

"Leaving already?" Heidi asked.

"Yeah..." Trish replied. "They say that it's best if you're out looking earlier in the day."

"Well, good luck, and don't use your magic."

"I know that! I'm not stupid!"

"Hm."

Trish walked into the front hall, and was soon out of Heidi's sight, before she heard the front door open and then shut. Heidi took another sip of tea from her mug, and then looked back out the kitchen window. She stared at the passing clouds in the morning sky, each one being moved along by the wind. She knew just by looking at the sky that it was going to be a nice day, albeit a slightly windy one.

Or rather, it would be a nice day. Unfortunately, that would prove to be a problem.

"...Perhaps I should take care of her right now," Heidi said to herself. "She's been waiting outside for an hour now. ...No... I'll wait. I'll wait until she makes her move."

~~~

Greg sat on the edge of Parvati's red flip-flop as he patiently watched the closed bathroom door. She would be leaving for work in a few minutes, and with Trish gone as well, that would leave him alone in the house with Heidi. That was something that he was not looking forward to. He considered waiting out the day in his dollhouse, but he never did like spending his time cooped up in thre for so long. Especially now that Heidi practically lived with him in there.

He still could not believe that he was rooming with Heidi, or that Parvati had known about it as well. He wondered what she was thinking, letting her live him. Though, he would not be surprised in the least if Heidi had demanded it, and that Parvati had no choice but to go along with it.

He was snapped back to reality as he saw the bathroom door open, and Parvati walk out from inside. She wore a red tube top and white skirt, a combination that Greg found to be particularly sexy. All it needed was one final touch, one that he believed would match perfectly with her red toenail polish.

Parvati looked towards Greg. "Oh? Why are you sitting there?"

"I don't know," Greg lied. "I just thought that it'd be a nice place to sit while I waited."

Parvati walked towards her bed. "Or are you trying to tell me that those are the shoes that you want me to wear today?"

Greg chuckled. "Kinda."

She smiled, before kneeling down on the floor and reaching under her bed beside him. Then, she pulled out a beige-colored shoebox. Afterwards, she stood up and then sat on the edge of her bed.

"Well, too bad," she teased. "I have something else in mind."

She reached down and removed the covering off of the shoebox. Then, she pulled out a pair of white ballet flats and placed them on the floor in front of her feet. Upon seeing the shoes, Greg's anxiousness gave way to disappointment.

"Oh, come on~n," he said as he jumped off of the flip-flop. "Not those!"

"What's wrong with them?" Parvati asked.

"Your toes need to breathe!" Greg said as he walked towards her feet. "It's still pretty hot out!"

Parvati giggled. "I know, but I bought these a few weeks ago, but never wore them."

"You did?"

"Yeah. They look too cute to not wear, so I'm going to wear them today. Besides, I decide what I wear, not you, my pet."

Greg sighed. "Man..."

Parvati nudged him in the chest with her big toe. "I want you to be on your best behavior today. You're going to be here alone with Heidi for most of the day."

"I know... I'm not looking forward to it... Maybe I should hide somewhere."

"No. She might need you for something."

Greg folded his arms. "Didn't you tell me to stay away from her yesterday?"

"That was before she told me that she would be sleeping in your dollhouse."

"I see..."

Parvati moved her left foot into the mouth of the left shoe, and shoved it inside. Then, she reached down, grabbed the back of the shoe, and then pulled on it to keep the shoe tightly on her foot. Then, she began to do the same with her right foot.

"Hey," Greg said. "Can I at least kiss it before you put it away?"

"Sure," Parvati answered.

"Awesome." Greg smiled, before turning to her right foot, and planting a kiss on her instep. Then, he looked towards the empty ballet flat nearby, and stared at it for a few seconds.

"What's wrong?" Parvati asked.

"I was just thinking... What if I go with you? I could hide out inside of your shoe!" Greg was getting a bit excited. "All you'd really have to do is make me a bit smaller, and I'll just stay inside and be a good little boy! What do you say!?"

"...Sometimes, I take my shoes off at work."

"...So?"

"I can't risk anyone seeing you, no matter how small I make you. Plus, if I make you too small, I might lose you. So, sorry, but that's not happening."

"Aww man..." Greg dropped his head in disappointment.

Parvati leaned forward. "...I'll tell you what. When I get home, I'll take a walk around the neighborhood, and I'll let you come along. Deal?"

Greg looked back up towards her, his excitement returned. "Really?!"

"Yeah," she nodded with a smile.

"Awesome! I can't wait!!"

"I bet you can't, my pet." Parvati put her right foot into the empty flat and pulled it tight on her foot. Then, she stood up. "...I think I'm looking forward to it, too."

"Great," Greg said. "I'll make sure to be a good little boy and not disappoint you!"

Parvati giggled. "You're so sweet." She grabbed her purse from her bed, and then stepped over Greg and headed for the bedroom door. "I'll see you later, my pet."

"Same here, my Goddess," Greg replied.

Parvati waved, before opening the door, and walking out of the room. She left the bedroom door open, most likely for Greg's convience, so he could see her walk through the hall, before turning left and walking into the kitchen. Then, he heard her exchange a few words with Heidi, who also seemed to be in the kitchen. A minute later, he heard the house's front door open, and then shut.

"...What now...?" He asked himself. He had something to look forward to when Parvati got back, but until then, he would have to wait it out with Heidi in the house. Heidi... It did not matter where he went, be it out around the house or in his dollhouse, she could and would be there.

He sighed, and walked towards the open doorway. He figured that he could at least go for his daily morning walk around the house.

~~~

Irene sat on a bus bench that had been set on the grass near the street, holding her cell phone open in her hands and feigning texting geistures. From there, she eyed the house that stood two doors down from the house that was right in front of her.

Once she had gotten closer and closer to the house, she could sense not only Heidi's aura, but the aura of two other witches, though they were significantly weaker. She was confident that she could take down both of them, but decided to wait to make her move. Twenty-five minutes ago, she saw a red-headed young woman, the source of one of the weaker auras, walk out from the house. She glanced in her direction, apparently seeing the aura eminating from her body, before walking the other way.

Then, ten minutes afterwards, a young woman who looked to be either South Asian or Middle Eastern, appeared from within. Like the redhead before, she was also a witch, and she looked towards Irene as well. Then, she stepped into her car, pulled out of the driveway, and drove down the street in the direction that Irene was in. She was not paying much attention, but she could tell that the woman was looking at her as she passed her by.

With both of the weaker witches gone, all that remained was Heidi herself. Irene was a bit relieved that she didn't have to deal with the other two witches, even if she could defeat them in no time at all.

She waited on the bench for a few more minutes, before standing up from it. Closing and shoving her phone into the pocket of her black leather pants, she began to walk towards the house.

A minute later, she was standing on the doorsteps of the house. She looked around her for any of the neighbors or passer-bys. Then, a smirk formed on her face.

"Prepare yourself, Heidi," Irene said. "You're going down."

Then, she stepped forward, towards the door. Instead of being stopped by the door's surface, her body passed right through the closed door.

~~~

Greg exited from the kitchen, and stepped into the front hallway. He was a bit surprised, and relieved, to see that Heidi was not in the kitchen. The back door was open, so he figured that she was out in the backyard, as usual. There was no guarantee that he would not run into her on his way back, but for now, he could at least enjoy being out from her judging eyes.

As he made his way into the center of the room, he heard the sound of magic crackling to his left. It was a sound that he had since become accustomed to, considering how long he had been in this house, but something about this magic seemed... different. He stopped his trek and looked to his left, towards the front door.

Yellow sparkling light that seemed to have taken a humanoid form had appeared on the door. Then, something seemed to be coming out of the shape.

Greg backed away. Was it an intruder? An intruder who was also a witch? Lily? Had she stooped so low as to break into their house?

Soon, the light faded, and Greg found himself gazing at the image of the invader. It was a young woman, and, remembering Parvati's description of Lily, he knew that it could not have been her. For one thing, this woman certainly did not look to be of European and Asian descent; she appeared to be full-blooded European. She had long blue hair that extended past her shoulders, and with a lock of hair on each side of her face. She wore a white tanktop, black leather pants, black fingerless gloves with silver bracelets on each wrist, and black platform boots. She also had a necklace around her neck, with a black crucifix that was turned upside-down, and the left side of her lower lip pierced with a ring. Nope... No way this woman was Lily.

Nevertheless, that did not make this situation any safer.

"Now... Where is Heidi?" the woman said to herself as she looked around.

Heidi? What did this woman want with her? Was that way she was there?

As she slowly walked forward, Greg began to back away from her. Unfortunately, he was still out in the open, and it would only be a matter of time before the woman saw him. Yet, he continued to pull away from the giantess invader.

The woman looked downward, towards the floor... and right at Greg. Greg gasped as the two locked eyes with each other. Her eyes were a bright green... and seemed to pierce right into his soul. At that moment, he wanted to make a break for it and run away from her as fast as he could.

The woman bent down, and had a look of curiosity and disgust on her face as she watched him.

"What the hell is this thing?!" she said.

Against his better judgment, Greg responded with, "I'm not a thing!! And who are you, and what are you doing here?!"

The woman chuckled, and stood back upright. Her expression had changed into a more malicious one. "You're not important. I'll just step on you and be done with it, before I find that bitch."

The woman stepped forward, and before long, he was completely shadowed by the sole of her black boot. He braced himself as it came down upon him, and pushed him into the floor. The woman stepped full weight on him, pressing his tiny body against the hardwood floor, before stepping off of him and walking away. She must have thought that he was nothing more than a flattened mess of blood and organs now, not worth another thought.

Picking his aching body off of the floor, he yelled, "Hey!"

The woman stopped, and looked behind her. An expression of shock appeared on her face as she saw that Greg had not been killed as she had thought. Aside from the pain that he had since gotten used to thanks to Parvati and Trish, he was not seriously harmed at all.

"What?!" the woman said, before she turned around and walked back to him.

Then she lifted her foot high above Greg and stomped down on him. Once again, Greg was forcefully pushed onto the floor, being pressed underneath her boots. This second stomp was much more painful than the first one, thanks to both the force she put into it and to the boots that she was wearing. Greg then felt her twist her foot on him over and over again for several seconds; she probably wanted to make sure that he was dead this time.

Finally, he felt her weight increase even more--her walking on him again--before she stepped off of his body.

His body twitched in place. He was bruised, but not seriously hurt. She looked back towards him, and gasped in frustration as she saw that he still was not a crushed mess on the floor.

"What the hell!?" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," Greg said as he stood to his feet and dusted himself off. "That's not going to work on me."

The woman grunted, and turned to face him. "Is that right, you freak? ...Then take this!"

She rose her right index finger and pointed it towards him. A point of orange light then appeared on the tip of her finger. Greg, knowing that the woman's next attack did not bode well for him, turned around and began to run away from the giantess. He then heard the sound of magic being fired from behind. He looked behind him, and saw an orange bolt of magic flying right towards him.

He quickly made a sharp right turn, evading the bolt that struck the floor right behind him. Left in its wake was a round, smoking charred spot on the floor.

"Grr... You're faster than I thought," the woman said.

She fired off more magic bolts. Greg tried his best to dodge each of the blasts that were fired at him as he ran for the kitchen. Unfortunately, one of the bolts grazed the left side of his abdomen, burning a hole into his shirt in the process. The searing pain of the magic caused him to keel over and clutch his side, screaming in agony as he laid on the floor.

He may have been impervious to being crushed to death, but that did not mean that he was immune to death at all.

He watched as the woman approached him and then stood over him, with a look of pure malice on her face. At that moment, he truly believed that this woman would end his life, in the most horrible of ways possible.

"Step away from him," said a familiar demanding voice from the kitchen. "Right now, if you know what's good for you."

Greg turned towards the kitchen doorway, and say Heidi standing there, her arms folded and with an angry expression on her face as she looked at the woman.

"Ahh..." The woman took a few steps back from Greg. "Heidi, there you are."

"I was wondering when you would make your move," Heidi said, "Irene Bradshaw."

Irene chuckled. "So, you knew that I was out there?"

"Of course," Heidi answered. "It should be no surprise that I am able to sense other witches around me. After all, I AM a General Witch."

"Yes, that's right... ...You ruined everything Kevin and I had planned."

"No. I saved the world from your flawed dictatorship."

"Dictatorship...?" Greg said to himself. He then remembered what Heidi had told him last night, about the witch and her boyfriend who wanted to overthrow the government. Was this Irene that same witch? Why did she hunt her down? Revenge, perhaps?

"Our world would've worked for you witches in the Aurora Realm, too," Irene said. "You wouldn't be so worried about us anymore. You could focus on fixing up that hellhole of a world instead of watching us all the time."

"If we stand by and let you peons in the Human Realm have your way with the world, what would make us think that you all would not get overconfident and try to take over the Aurora Realm? That... is a risk none of us are willing to take."

"We can't get overconfident over overpowering the weak humans. Many witches believe that we should be ruling the world, not them. After all, power is everything, and we have lots of it!"

"Stop it. Against me, you will find that your 'power' is severely lacking. I'll give you one chance: Leave now, and never show your face in front of me again."

"Heh." Irene shook her head. "You think you're better than me, and the rest of us, but I'll show you."

Heidi sighed, "I don't think I'm better than you," she said as she walked into the hallway, took a spot at the back of it, and then faced Irene. "I AM better than you."

Irene gritted her teeth in frustration, and then brought up her right arm and pointed it towards Heidi. "Die!!"

A white blast of magic burst from her hand and charged towards Heidi. Heidi merely stood her ground as she glared at Irene, seemingly not caring of the blast that had just been unleashed on her.

"W-what are you doing?!" Greg yelled out in worry. "Dodge it!!"

Heidi did not budge, and the magic beam was soon just a foot away from her. However, right before it made contact with her body, Greg gasped as the beam seemed to become neutralized in the air just inches away from her body. It was almost as if she was surrounded by an invisible force field.

Irene was bewildered as well. "What?!"

"I told you," Heidi said. "I'm better than you."

"Grrr-AHHHHH!!!" Irene then began to rapidly fire magic at Heidi. Unfortunately for her, each one of her beams also found themselves to be useless against Heidi.

Heidi then thrust her left arm forward. An invisible force pushed Irene into the door behind her. She yelped in pain as she sloutched onto the floor.

In awe, Greg struggled to his feet, still holding his burned side. "Whoa..."

"Are you alright?" Heidi asked Greg as she looked toward him.

"...No. She burned me."

"I see." Heidi pointed towards him, and a blue light burst forth from it.

Greg soon found himself engulfed by a blue light. Very quickly, he noticed that the pain that had been ailing him vanished. He looked towards the spot in which he had been burned, and saw that the hole in his shirt had been mended. In fact, it was almost as if he had never been attacked at all.

"Better?" Heidi asked.

"Yeah," Greg answered. "Thank you."

Heidi nodded, and then looked back towards Irene.

"I held back," Heidi said. "If I wanted to, I could have sent you over the horizon."

"Quit lying!!" Irene barked. "You can't possibly have that much power!!"

"...I'm a General Witch. You have no idea how much power I have. I didn't just get my rank because they chose my name at random."

"You..." Irene stood up, furious as ever. "You think you're so hot! Well, I'll show you!! I've learned something that will bring even you to your knees!!"

Irene then started to make several hand signs and geistures with her hands, each one seemed to have some kind of rhythm to it. Greg stared at the woman, confused as to what she was doing. He always thought that witches could just think of whatever spell they wanted, and then utilize it. What Irene was doing now seemed to be overly complicated.

Suddenly, he heard something odd: a gasp... from Heidi. Before he could turn to face her, she dashed across the hallway and grabbed Irene's right wrist. Irene tried to pull her hand from her grip, but Heidi seemed to have a very light hold on her.

"Let go of me!!" Irene ordered.

"You've learned that?!" Heidi blurted out. "I need no futher proof of your corruption!! In the name of Karma, I silence you!!"

From the hand that Heidi gripped Irene's wrist with, a bright white light shined forth and engulfed Irene's body. The light was so bright that Greg had to shield his eyes with his arms. He heard the woman scream quite loudly as the entire room was bathed in the light from Heidi's spell.

As the light faded away, Greg uncovered his eyes, and looked toward Heidi and... Just Heidi. It seemed that the other woman had disappeared.

Then, a small object fell to the floor in front of Heidi. It looked to be a small wooden figure that stood on some kind of pedestal. However, the figure seemed to bare a strong resemblance to that Irene woman.

Greg approached Heidi, as she looked down at the figure.

"What did you do to her?" Greg asked.

Heidi looked towards him. "I turned her into this wooden doll. Her soul is trapped inside."

"What?" Greg was slightly surprised.

Heidi reached down and picked the figure up. "I have to deliver her to the Aurora Realm's Special Defense Force, so I'll be gone for a few hours."

"What's going to happen to her?"

"She's a threat now, so once I explain things to the Head Witches, they'll probably excommunicate her, which means that she would lose her powers and any memories relating to them. However, I'm going to recommend that they execute her."

"What?!" This was what shocked Greg. "Isn't that a bit much?! What about her family?!"

"Even with her memories and powers gone, she still has the potential to cause problems for humanity," Heidi answered. "...And I couldn't care less about her family. We'll just erase any hint of her existance from their minds, as well as from the minds of anyone who has had contact with her long enough to be acquaintances."

"That's cruel..."

Heidi stepped over Greg, and then stood at the center of the hallway.

"You may consider it cruel," Heidi said, "but I consider it justice. No witch who knows that spell should ever be left alive. Ever." She turned her attention to the figure in her hand. "This is what you get for thinking for even a second that you could match a fraction of my power."

"What spell is that, anyway?" Greg asked.

Ignoring him, she made a motion with her right hand in front of her. Greg curiously watched this geisture, and upon finishing it, something of what looked like a hole in space slowly opened up in front of her. He tried to peer inside, but could not see anything other than flashing colors.

Heidi walked into what he assumed was a portal to the Aurora Realm, and once she was completely inside, it closed up behind her and disappeared from sight.

Greg looked around the room, from the door behind him to where the portal once was to the charred spot on the floor from Irene's earlier attack.

Then, he said to himself, "...What just happened?"

"Oh my God!!" Trish exclaimed. "Are you alright?!"

Greg sat on the edge of Parvati's bed, while Trish stood nearby and Parvati sat in the chair at her desk. The two had come home together, and Greg had just explained to them what had happened earlier that day, up to the point where he was grazed by Irene's magic attack.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Greg replied. "Lucky for me, Heidi fixed me right up, and then she kicked that other witch's ass. If she wasn't there, I'd've been toasted."

Parvati folded her arms. "I saw that witch sitting at the bus stop earlier, but I didn't pay her too much mind. ...I was careless."

"I saw her, too," Trish said. "She was just sitting there, texting on her phone. I didn't even think that she was probably faking."

"So, where is Heidi now?" Parvati asked.

"She took the witch back to the Aurora Realm," Greg answered. "...It was the funniest thing, though. The witch made some kind of movement with her hand, and then Heidi lost her cool. She started yelling at her for knowing some kind of forbidden spell, and then turned her into a doll."

"Forbidden spell?" Trish asked.

"Heidi said that any witch who knows it must be killed." Greg turned towards Parvati. "You happen to know what it is?"

Parvati shook her head. "No. I don't know anything about it."

"I see..." Greg sighed. "I don't think Heidi will tell me, anyway. I guess I'll never know what it is."

"If it's as dangerous as Heidi made it out to be, I think you're better off not knowing," Parvati said. "In fact, there's a lot of things about us witches that you're better off not knowing."

"Like the Abyss," Trish casually said.

"Trish!" Parvati shot a glare at Trish.

"Oops," Trish covered her mouth.

"The what?" Greg asked.

Parvati sighed. "Like I said, you're better off not knowing."

"...Now you got me even more curious," Greg said.

"Well, anyway," Trish said as she stepped closer to the bed, "I'm glad that you're okay, Runt. We don't want to lose you, do we?" She reached down and patted him on the head. "You're our little Joker."

"Uhh... Thanks, I guess," Greg said as he tried to push her hand away from him, but to no avail.

"I'll be going, now," Trish said, withdrawing her hand and walking towards the door. "I'm sure you and him want to have some alone time, huh?" She said in a sly tone. "After all, Heidi's not here, so..."

"She could be back any minute now," Greg said.

"Then you two better hurry." Trish winked, before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Greg stared at the door for a few seconds, before turning towards Parvati, who was looking at him. Her facial expression looked to be one of slight worry and guilt.

"What?" Greg asked.

"I'm starting to think that I should have taken you with me to work after all," Parvati answered. "I can't believe that I let you get so close to death..."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know that that witch was going to come in here."

"Yeah, but if only I had not been so cautious... I could have hidden you very well today. I didn't even take my shoes off..."

"Parvati... What matters is that I'm fine. So stop worrying. It doesn't suit you."

Parvati stared at him for a few seconds, before sighing. "You're right. You're safe, so I have to thank Heidi when she gets back." She smiled.

Greg smiled as well. "Yeah, I'm sure she'll appreciate it... Even if she doesn't show it."

"Yeah." Parvati stood up. "...So, do you still want to go for that walk?"

Greg gasped. "You remembered that?"

"Of course I did. I was the one who brought it up, remember?"

"Oh yeah..." Greg chuckled.

Parvati stepped in front of the bed and bent down, and then pulled her ballet flat from her right foot and set it down on the floor between her and the bed. Afterwards, she reached for Greg and grabbed him off of her bed, and placed him into the empty shoe.

Greg looked up towards the towering woman above him. "You didn't let me climb in on my own?"

"No," Parvati answered. "Remember? We're in a rush now, right?"

"Oh yeah..." Greg looked behind him, towards the inner section of the shoe. "It's pretty dark in there..." he said to himself.

"Lay down," Parvati ordered.

Without a word, Greg did as she said, laying his body down onto the insole of her shoe. The fabric of the insole felt rather nice against his body, and the floral fragrance of her foot was present inside.

"Are you ready?" Parvati asked. "I'm about to put my foot in."

"I'm ready!" Greg shouted out.

As Greg slid himself a bit further inside of the shoe, he saw the light flowing in from the shoe's mouth slowly fade away. Then, Parvati's massive toes appeared from above, followed by the rest of her foot, as it made its way inside of the shoe. His vision was soon completely blocked as her foot slid over his body, her soft sole rubbing against his skin, until it settled in place. Greg was pressed against the ball of her foot and the insole of her shoe; a perfect place among many to be if he had to say so himself.

He felt the pressure from her foot lighten briefly, and then intensify on his body. Then, lighten up again, and reintensify, and so forth. It did not take much to figure out that Parvati was now walking through the house, probably making her way towards the front door.

Greg was a bit disappointed that he could not actually walk beside her, so he could actually see the neighborhood, but he knew that the sight of someone as small as he was would cause a massive sensation among the neighbors, which would soon trickle all the way to the world news. He was more than content with being like a small pebble inside of her shoe for the duration of her trip.

~~~

Standing near a wall with her arms folded, Heidi watched as two of the robed animated dolls escorted Irene into the chamber. Her arms were bound in front of her by magical restraints that subdued the use of her powers, and her attire had been changed to just a mere white jumpsuit. While being brought inside, she kept her head dropped downward--understandably so, considering the verdict that the Head Witches had given her.

After reporting her crimes to the Council, and suggesting that they execute her, Heidi was dismayed when they decided not to kill her after all. However, the punishment that they instead handed down to Irene was possibly even worse than death.

The large doors to the chamber closed with a loud creak, and the sound of the doors shutting echoed throughout.

The dolls released Irene from their grips, and then walked forward to the center of the room, where another pair of doors were closed on the floor. Both of the dolls grabbed hold of a rope that was tied to the handle of each door, and then pulled on it. The doors opened, revealing a spiraling portal that bathed the entire room with its bright golden light.

"Irene Bradshaw," Heidi said as she stepped forward. "This is your punishment, one that the Head Witches have handed down onto you: you will spend a year in the Abyss. When you are released, you will no long be a witch, but a mere human with no memories of your powers or anything relating to them. You will also have no family to turn to, as we will have wiped any shred of your existence from their minds and lives."

"So, you completely fucked up my life?!" Irene spat on the floor. "You really are spiteful!"

"Yes," Heidi said. "Yes, I am."

"Also, a year?! You make it sound better than it actually is!"

"For us, it'll be a year. For you, however, it will be a lot longer."

The Abyss was truly a hellish place, one that witches dreaded even more than death. All perceptions of space and time are distorted inside of the endless plain: those unfortunate enough to wound up inside will fall in all discernable directions for what feels like forever; as time is warped in this realm, one would feel as if millions of years have passed, when in reality, only mere seconds have passed in the Aurora Realm. While there were several witches in the Abyss at a time, the spaces between them were so great that they had no hope of ever seeing each other during their stay there. Due to being trapped in the realm for seemingly eternity in near complete isolation, few who have been released from this torture have managed to keep their sanity afterwards.

Heidi stepped away from the wall, and stood several feet behind Irene.

"Before you are thrown inside," Heidi said, "I have one question."

"What?" Irene crudely asked.

"Where did you learn how to use the forbidden spell Cephei Aldebaran?"

Irene said nothing.

"The only ones who know of that spell are the Head Witches and us General Witches. All details of those spells were locked away hundreds of years ago, far away from the hands of you lower witches. How did you learn in?"

Irene remained silent. Heidi stared at the backside of the condemned woman, becoming irritated from her refusal to answer her question. The two dolls also stared on at the two women.

"If you can learn it, then there is a danger that others can. I need to know so that we can prevent a possible apocalypse."

Still, Irene refused to answer.

"Irene!" Heidi snapped. "Answer me now-"

"No," Irene replied. "It's not like I have anything to gain from answering you. You'll just have to deal with it, you spiteful bitch!"

Heidi's patience had run out. "Fine. Just for that, I'll add another year to your sentence. Now-"

Irene quickly turned around in shock. "What!?"

"Receive your punishment!"

Heidi thrust her right arm forward, which sent out an invisible burst of magic that pushed Irene off of her feet and into the portal. Her screams were heard as she disappeared into the vortex, and soon faded as she disappeared from that reality. The dolls looked at each other, before pushing the portal's doors closed. Heidi then pointed her index finger towards the doors, and a bolt of magic shot forth from it and surrounded the handles, before a giant lock materialized around them.

"Finish up here, and give the report to the Council," Heidi ordered the dolls. "I have to get back to my assignment."

Heidi then walked towards the large closed doors of the chamber, and pushed them open. She then exited the place, and then walked towards the Aurora Realm's main area, which was far off in the distance. She could have just warped there, but several things were on her mind.

Namely the forbidden spell Cephei Aldebaran; the spell that, in the wrong hands, could spell disaster for all those in the reality that it is used in.

It bothered her that Irene did not cooperate and tell her where she had learned it from. As she said, the documents that told about the spell, and how to use it were locked away. If someone like Irene could learn it, what was to say that there were not any other witches who also knew the spell.

The only ones who were supposed to know of the spell were, as she said before, the Head Witches and the General Witches. That pointed to one conclusion.

There was a traitor among her peers, or even her superiors.

~~~

Parvati stepped into the house, holding a plastic bag from the nearby convience store in her right hand, and her purse on her left shoulder. The walk she had just taken helped to ease her mind about the events that befell Greg earlier that day; she felt better now, though the charred spots in the front hallway still bugged her. A simple spray of magic would easily solve that problem, though.

She looked downward towards her right foot. The feeling of Greg's small body squirming under her sole, inside of her shoe, also helped soothe her, and she knew that it helped him to get his mind off of what happened to him as well. Though she wondered if she should have made him a bit smaller for the trip. There was no question in her mind that he would have loved that.

She closed and locked the door behind her, and walked into the kitchen. Upon arriving, she found Heidi sitting at the kitchen table, looking out towards the open window before turning her attention towards her.

"Heidi..." Parvati said.

"Hello, Parvati," Heidi said. "How was your day?"

"It was fine," Parvati answered. "...Greg told us--Trish and I--what happen earlier. Thank you for saving Greg."

Heidi smiled slightly. "No problem. That witch was after me, and I didn't feel that it was right for him to be caught in the crossfire."

"What's going to happen to that witch?"

"Her sentence is already being carried out. Two years in the Abyss."

Parvati shuddered at the thought of spending even a minute in that realm. "Yikes..."

"She deserved it." Heidi looked back towards the window. "She learned a very dangerous spell, and when it comes to those, we can't take any chances."

"Oh yes... Greg said that you became frantic when she started to use it."

"Parvati."

"Huh?"

Heidi looked back towards her. "Do you know any highly dangerous--even forbidden--spells?"

Parvati shook her head. "No. What would I do with any spell like that?"

Heidi chuckled. "Of course... I don't think anyone would admit to a General Witch that they know any forbidden spells."

"Heidi... I'm being serious. I don't know any forbidden spells. Especially knowing that they could cause me to be sent to the Abyss."

"...I suppose you're right... Especially since you're scared to death of the Abyss."

Parvati twitched. "I wouldn't go that far."

"I would, but that's how it should be. That's how all of you witches should feel about the Abyss. That way, you won't do anything that would send you there."

"Right..." Parvati rolled her eyes, before continuing for the back hallway.

"Once more thing," Heidi called.

Parvati stopped, and looked back behind her at Heidi.

"Have you spoken to Lily lately?"

Parvati sighed. "Of course not."

"I see..."

"Why?"

"...No reason."

"Oh..."

Heidi turned her attention back to the window, and Parvati exited the kitchen. She walked through the back hall, still relishing in the sensations of Greg in her shoe, and entered into her bedroom.

She wondered why Heidi had brought up Lily all of a sudden. She had known about the friction between the two, so perhaps she wanted to know of any recent events concerning them.

Deciding not to dwell on things that she cannot be sure about (especially considering how secretive Heidi is in general), Parvati closed the door and walked towards her bed, and placed her purse and plastic bag onto it. Then, she sat down on it, and pulled her flats from her feet. She reached down and grabbed her right shoe, and turned it upside-down, causing Greg to tumble out from within and onto the floor. Placing the shoe back on the floor, she watched him closely as he breathed heavily on the floor.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Maybe I should have let more air come in?"

"...I'm... just fine..." Greg said between breaths. "That... was... wonderful..."

Parvati smiled. "Glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed it, too."

"Really?" Greg sat up. "That's great...! You're becoming a great... giantess...!"

Parvati pushed him back on the floor with her big toe, and kept him pinned there. "Didn't we already establish that?" she asked half-jokingly.

"True!" Greg said as he attempted to push on her toe; his tiny arms failing to do so amused her.

"Heidi's out there now, so we have to cool it for now." She removed her toe from his body.

"She is? Aww man..." He said in a disappointed tone.

"Wait a few days, my pet," Parvati said. "Then, I'll let you have all of the fun you want. Sound good?"

"That sounds better than good!!" Greg excitedly said as he sat up again.

"Wonderful," Parvati said with a smile. "You're not the only one looking forward to it. I hope you have some new things planned."

"...I'll see what I can come up with," Greg replied.

Parvati chuckled, and then stood up.

"Where are you going?" Greg asked.

"To the bathroom," she replied, before getting another idea. "Try to beat me to the bathroom."

"You want me to race you?"

Parvati nodded.

"But you'll cream me!"

"Oh, you don't know that." She winked at him.

Greg stared up at her for several seconds, before he stood to his feet and began to run towards the bathroom. Parvati watched him for a minute; she found the sight of this tiny man scurrying along the floor to be rather cute.

Then, carrying out the thought that she had just had, she began to walk towards Greg. In just one step with her left foot, she had covered the entire distance that he had ran. He looked up towards her just as she moved her right foot forward and stepped down on him. His run came to a complete stop as her foot pushed him into the floor with the full weight of her body, before stepping off of him and continuing for the bathroom.

As she reached the doorway, she looked back towards the defeated Greg, who was still laying face-down on the floor, his head slowly rising.

"Looks like you were right," Parvati teased, before going into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Before he had come into her life, she never thought that she could even have half as much fun with a tiny person as she was having with Greg. Thanks to him, she discovered a side of her that she never knew existed.

While she was prepared to send him back to his old life should Heidi order it, deep down, she wanted him to remain with her for as long as she liked.

~~~

Hours later, Greg sat on the couch in his dollhouse's living room, flipping through the channels on his television for something interesting to watch. His fun with Parvati had ended, and she was now sitting on her bed, typing up something on her laptop; he could hear the keys being pressed by her fingers high above him, however faint it was.

He then heard the door open, and then shut. He knew that that could only mean one thing: that Heidi had returned.

He looked towards the hallway, and indeed Heidi had arrived. She walked into the living room, and approached Greg.

"How are you feeling?" Heidi asked.

"I'm fine, thanks to you," Greg replied.

"Good." Heidi walked past him, and sat down in the chair to Greg's left. "Did you hear what happened to Irene?"

"No, what?"

"...That's surprising. I thought for sure that you'd be eavesdropping on the conversation that Parvati and I had earlier."

"Well, I wasn't." To tell the truth, at the time, Greg was inside of Parvati's shoe, but her flesh made it difficult to hear what the two women were saying.

"Anyway, she wasn't killed. She was just sent to the Abyss for two years."

"There it is again." Greg sighed.

"What?"

"They mentioned the Abyss earlier, but they wouldn't tell me what it was. They said that I was better off not knowing."

"I see. I have to agree with them. I don't think a human should know of that place."

"So, you're not going to tell me, either?"

Heidi shook her head. "I will say that the Abyss is worse than death. It's probably the closest thing we have to what you humans call 'Hell'."

Greg's eyes widened. "What? ...That's horrible."

"She deserved it."

"Yeah, but..."

"Don't worry about her, Greg."

"...Alright, fine. She did try to kill me, after all."

"Exactly."

Greg continued to flip through channels, still finding nothing of interest, before Heidi suddenly spoke up.

"Change it to Animal Planet," she suggested.

"Whaa?" Greg was surprised to hear this.

"Yes."

Greg shrugged, and did as she said. A documentary on the wildlife of the animals on the American plainlands was being shown. Losing interest rather quickly, he placed the remote on the table, stood up, and prepared to leave.

"What's wrong?" Heidi asked.

"I don't like animals," Greg responded. "You have fun with your nature show."

"Oh, I will." Heidi shifted from the chair to the couch that he had been sitting on, and laid across it.

Greg watched her become more and more enticed by the program on the television, before she had noticed that he was still standing in the doorway.

"You're still here?" she asked.

"Sorry..." Greg apologized. "I'll be going now. ...But I have a quick question."

"What is it?"

"I've been wondering... How old are you, anyway? You look around Trish's age, but you act like a middle-aged woman."

"Greg." Heidi sat up, apparently taking offense to what he had just said. "Weren't you ever taught to never ask a woman her age? It's rude."

"Sorry... Forget it." Greg turned around, and began to leave the living room.

"Let's just say that I'm much older than you, Parvati, and Trish combined."

"Huh? Really?!"

Heidi laid back on the couch. "Yes, really. Now..." She made a "leave" motion with her hand.

Greg shrugged, and headed for his bedroom. With the only television in the house taken over by the very same person keeping him from playing with Parvati, he had officially run out of things to keep himself amused.

Though he was left with three things to ponder over in his room. Firstly, what exactly the Abyss was. The witches seemed to not want to talk about it. Was it really as horrible as they said it was? Was he truly better off not knowing about it, and thinking it merely as Hell? More importantly, would it be a place that Parvati, and possibly even Trish, could end up in if the Head Witches do not approve of him being there? Greg doubted it that they would go that far, but he could not be sure.

Secondly was the forbidden spell that had condemned Irene to such a fate. What exactly was the nature of that spell; a spell that made even the usually collected and calm Heidi lose her cool? If Irene could learn it, he wondered how many other witches could also know it at that moment?

Finally was Heidi's exact age. He knew that she wouldn't tell him exactly, and her answer was rather vague and only made him even more curious. He would be happy with even an approximation. Admittedly, knowing her age probably would not help him in the long run, but he just wanted to know.

"They're just giving me more questions," Greg said to himself as he entered into his room.

Greg awoke in his bed and sat up. He looked around the room. It was just as he had left it the night before; there was nothing weird or out of place about it.

A strange male voice called out to him in his sleep, one with words he could barely make out as the rest seemed to be distorted. He did not know what to make of it.

He sighed, and threw his bedsheet off of his body.

It must have been just a dream.

Going for his usual morning walk, Greg made his way down the back hallway towards the kitchen. He had slept in too late that morning, and thus Parvati had already left for work by the time he woke up. He was disappointed that he could not even get a tease from her, but he knew that he would most likely get a little something when she got back, so he decided to not worry about it.

As he approached the kitchen, he heard a familar voice speaking from it. It belonged to Trish. It sounded as if she was talking to someone. Heidi perhaps? No... It sounded more like she was talking to herself.

Greg knew that this was not the case, so he quickly came to the conclusion that she was talking on her phone.

As he drew closer, he could not help but listen in onto the conversation. Or rather, her side of the conversation.

"...It's Friday, and I don't really have plans. ...No, I'm not job searching today. I already hit up all the places around here. ...Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll save it for Monday. ...Really? What time?"

Greg finally reached the kitchen's doorway and peered inside. Trish was standing up, slowly pacing back and forth through the same area of the kitchen while holding her cell phone to her head. On the table, Greg could barely make out a glass of orange juice; he figured that Trish had finally decided to use a glass this time. She wore the same grey hooded sweatshirt that she had been wearing for several days now, but she was also wearing navy blue shorts and white socks. Her short red hair was tied into a ponytail behind her head, and her glasses were absent from her face.

"...Okay. But don't come all the way here. I'll meet you halfway. ...I could use the exercise. ...Okay, so I'll see you at around 2?" Trish giggled. "Same here! ...Yeah, see ya then!"

She then closed her phone, and then placed it on the table. Then, with a grin on her face, she let out a sigh of satisfaction before picking up her glass of orange juice and drinking the contents inside.

Not feeling the need to hide from sight any longer, Greg stepped out from behind the wall and into the kitchen. Despite her not wearing glasses, he caught Trish's attention immediately.

"Well, look who it is!" Trish said cheerfully. She was in an obvious good mood.

"Who was that you were talking to?" Greg asked as he approached her.

"A friend of mine."

"A boyfriend?" Greg raised an eyebrow.

Trish laughed. "Maybe."

"...You're actually dating a guy!?" Greg said in an overexaggeratedly surprised tone, though he actually was mildly surprised.

"I have a life outside of this house, you know."

"I guess." Greg shrugged. "...So, where's the ice princess?"

"You mean Heidi? Where do you think? She's out in the yard again."

"I wonder what the neighbors think, her going out there all the time."

"'When did they let a hippie move in?' is what they'll think, but I don't think they'll care much." Trish walked to the table's chair and sat down in it. "I have bigger things on my mind now!"

"Bigger than me?" Greg asked.

"Much bigger!"

"Because, you know..." Greg started to approach her. "I could make you at least put me and the mystery on the same level."

"Haha... Nice try." Trish grabbed her glass from the table. "I know what you're trying to do, and you can forget about it. Not with Ms. Nature nearby." She took a sip from the glass.

"She doesn't care, really. And I was just gonna touch."

"I don't care. You'll just have to wait until she leaves." Trish stuck he tongue out at him.

"...Parvati lets me play with her feet at least a little bit..." Greg muttered to himself.

Trish stood up, and walked to the sink. Once there, she poured the remnants of her orange juice--about 2/5's of the glass--into the drain, and placed the glass in with the rest of the dirty dishes. Then, she turned around and walked towards the entrance into the back hall, swiping her cell phone from the table as she passed it. As she passed Greg, perhaps as a preemptive move on her part, she pushed him away from her with her right foot. The force knocked him off of his feet and he fell backwards onto the floor.

"Hey!" Greg yelled out at her.

"I don't want you coming in with me right now. Sorry," Trish said as she continued into the hallway.

Seconds later, he heard her bedroom door close. Greg stood to his feet, and let out a sigh. This actually was not the first time that she has pulled this on him, but each time he found himself annoyed at her. And each time, he found himself thinking the same thing.

"She could have at least pushed me without her socks on..." he said to himself.

He began to trek further into the kitchen. He contemplated walking to the back door to take a glimpse at what exactly Heidi was doing outside, but he decided against it. The risk of him actually ending up out in the yard was large, and he did not want to risk having the neighbors see him, or a bird swoop down and take him as a tasty meal. There was also the thing Parvati told him way back when she had first shrunken him; that if he ever stepped out of the house, his super resiliency--the part of the spell that made him "uncrushable--would go away. He shuddered at the thought of Parvati's reaction if, during one of their play sessions, she actually crushed him for real.

"Not worth it," he concluded, before heading towards the front hallway.

~~~

It was nearing two in the afternoon as Trish made her way towards a coffee shop several blocks away from her house. Despite the mid-80s heat, she wore her favorite grey hooded sweatshirt along with blue jeans and white tennis shoes. One would assume that she would be quite hot in this attire, but thanks to a spell that she cast before she left the house, she did not feel the heat at all.

As she approached her destination, she noticed a certain someone sitting on the bench in front of it. A young woman looking to be Hispanic with tan skin, most of her black hair was tied into a ponytail behind her head, with the rest of it hanging down in front of her ears. She wore a black tanktop, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes.

A smile of anticipation appeared on Trish's face. She knew exactly who this person was.

"Hey, Cynthia!" she called out.

The woman on the bench looked towards Trish, and as she caught sight of her, a grin appeared on her face as well. She stood up and walked towards Trish.

"'Bout time!" Cynthia said.

Once the two reached each other, they wrapped their arms around each other and then gave the other a quick kiss on the lips. During the act, Trish could hear the somewhat cheerful reactions of some of the bystanders around the area, most of which came from males, but she brushed it off as one of the many things that men could not help themselves doing.

"What do you mean, 'Bout time'?" Trish asked as the two released each other. "I said that I'd be here at two. It's not even two yet."

"I've been waiting here for 30 minutes," Cynthia said. "I told you I had nothing else to do after I got off of work."

"Yeah, I guess..."

"So anyway, you said that there's a computer shop that you wanted to show me?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Truth be told, Trish was not actually thinking about the shop at the moment. "You said that you needed a new laptop since your old one crashed, and while I was out job searching, I happened to come across it. They weren't hiring, but they had some nice things."

"Really? Where is it?"

"It's..." Trish looked behind her. "It's back this way, actually."

"Okay, then let's get going."

Now accompanied by Cynthia, Trish walked back the way she came. The quickest path to the store would take the two women right past her house. Considering what was going on inside, she wanted to pass it as quickly as possible.

"So, how was your day so far?" Cynthia asked.

"Boring!" Trish answered. "I mean, how could I concentrate on other things when I knew that I would be seeing you in a few hours?"

Cynthia laughed. "Come on... You're saying that you couldn't find nothing to do?"

"Nope."

Cynthia wrapped her hands around Trish's waist from behind. "Am I that irresistable?"

Trish blushed. "Kinda."

Cynthia giggled, and released Trish from her hold. Trish was somewhat disappointed, but figured that it would look odd having the two of them walk like that for several blocks.

"My day was pretty crappy, too," Cynthia said as she rushed to Trish's side.

"You had a half-day at work," Trish said. "How crappy can it be?"

"Well, Mr. Pain-in-the-Ass-Who-Pays-Me yelled at me for not filing his monthly budget report. But I DID file it, but some jack-off must have not did his part, because the company he told me to send it to didn't receive it. That just made me mad all while I was there. I was snapping at everybody-"

"You didn't sound that mad when I called you this morning," Trish interrupted.

"That was before all of that happened. Anyway, the guy who works next to me accidently spilled coffee on my shirt. I almost punched him in the face."

"Wow... That is pretty bad."

"Isn't it!? But I'm glad it's over. Now I can just relax with you."

Trish smiled at her remark. "I'll try to make you feel as good as I can."

"Thank you." Cynthia planted a quick kiss on Trish's cheek.

Soon, the two women started to approach Trish's house. Trish was anxious as it drew closer. She wanted to pass it as fast as she could, so she quickened her pace a bit.

"Hey, slow down!" Cynthia commanded. "What's the rush?"

"What are you talking about?" Trish asked as she looked towards Cynthia, who was a bit further back now. "I'm walking the same speed as I always was."

"Liar!" Cynthia teased, before looking off to the right. "...Hey, isn't that your house?"

Trish cursed inside. "Huh? ...Oh yeah, it is."

"Why are you in a rush all of a sudden?"

"I want to hurry up and get to that computer store for you."

"Oh..."

Trish continued walking as Cynthia followed after her. For a few seconds, as the two passed her house, Trish thought that her fears had been put to rest.

"Hey, you never once invited me inside of your house."

Trish then stopped dead in her tracks, and turned around. "Well, it's a boring place. I find better things to do out here."

"Hmm..." Cynthia examined the one-story house, before walking towards it.

Trish's heart skipped a beat. "W-what are you doing!?"

"C'mon, Trish. Can I see inside? I wanna see what your house looks like."

Trish walked towards Cynthia. "No!"

"Please?!" Cynthia begged. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing. It's just... It's a mess right now. No one's cleaned up in days."

Cynthia tilted her head and placed her hands on her hips. "But didn't you say that your roommate is a huge neat freak?"

"Err..." Trish had forgotten all about that. "Dammit."

Cynthia walked closer to Trish. "What's wrong? Is it anything bad?"

"No... No, not really..."

"Then could a little peek hurt?" Cynthia's bright brown eyes stared into Trish's. They almost seemed puppy-like.

"No, I guess not." Trish sighed. "...Let's go, but I'm going in first."

Cynthia squealed. "Thank you!" She kissed Trish on the lips, before heading towards the house.

"Hey, I said that I'm going in first!" Trish said.

Trish ran past Cynthia, and then headed for the front door. She had hoped that she had stood her ground and refused Cynthia's request, but she seemed to have a weakness for her eyes, especially if they were begging for something. Now, the only thing on her mind was whether or not the runt--Greg--would make an appearance. If Cynthia saw him, she had no idea how she would react.

As she reached the door, she pulled her keys out of her pocket and shoved the correct key into the slit in the doorknob. She then turned the key to the right, before turning the doorknob and opening the door. Pulling the keys out of the knob, she and Cynthia walked inside of the house and into the front hallway.

"Wow..." Cynthia said in a somewhat amazed state. "It's smaller on the inside..."

"Well, it's bigger than your place," Trish retorted.

"I live in an apartment, so at least my place has a reason to be so small." Cynthia looked around, before stepping into the living room.

"Uhmm..." Trish nervously followed after her. "So, you've seen my house, so why don't we go to the store now?"

"Trishy-baby..." Cynthia said. "It sounds like you're trying to kick me out."

"No, it's nothing like that. I just-"

Suddenly, Trish heard the back door open, and then close. She then heard footsteps approaching where the two were, and looked towards the kitchen. As expected, Heidi soon appeared from the kitchen. She looked at Trish, and then at Cynthia. An expression of surprise mixed with slight indignation appeared on her face.

"You're back earlier than I thought," Heidi said. "...And who's this?"

"Aww..." Cynthia said. "You didn't tell your roommate about me?"

Trish looked towards Cynthia. "She's not my roommate. She's just staying with us right now."

"Oh..." Cynthia stretched out her hand towards Heidi. "Anyway, I'm Cynthia Morales. I'm Trish's special lady."

"Cynthia, huh?" Heidi took Cynthia's hand in her own's and shook it. "Nice to meet you. My name is Heidi. Please, make yourself at home. Sit on the couch and watch TV. Do you need anything?"

"No, nothing I can think of," Cynthia responded.

"I see..." Heidi looked towards Trish. "Trish, could I speak with you for a minute."

"...Sure." Trish already knew what Heidi wanted her for, and, after taking one last look at Cynthia as she found her place on the couch, she followed Heidi into the kitchen.

Heidi walked towards the back hallway, but stopped at the doorway.

"Okay," Heidi said in a frustrated tone, "what the hell are you thinking, bringing a human into this house?"

"I'm sorry," Trish said. "I know I shouldn't have, and I tried to steer her away, but she insisted, and I couldn't say no to her."

"That's hardly an excuse."

"Where's the Runt?"

"I just came in here. I don't know."

"Crap... I hope he isn't in there with Cynthia. Maybe he's smart enough to stay out of sight." Trish opened her right palm. "But just in case..." She pointed her left index finger towards it, and then a bolt of magic shot from its tip. Once it reached her palm, it spun upwards until a bottle of fruit juice appeared in her palm.

"What are you doing?" Heidi asked.

"I'll make her drink this," Trish said as she grabbed the bottle out of her palm. "If the Runt appears, this will make her see a mouse instead of a little man. As long as she doesn't try to touch him, we should be fine."

"Interesting... Are you sure it'll work?"

"I hope."

"...Just be careful."

"I will."

"...And I'll deal with you later, once your little date is over."

Trish sighed. "Fine."

Trish and Heidi then walked back through the kitchen, and back into the living room, where Cynthia was waiting.

"Here." Trish held out the bottle of juice towards her.

Cynthia stared at the bottle, before looking back at her. "But I said that I didn't want anything."

"Nonsense!" Heidi said in an overly cheery tone. "I'm sure you were waiting in that heat for so long! You're sweating beads!"

This sudden change in Heidi's demeanor took Trish by surprise, as it did with Cynthia.

"Umm... Heidi, are you feeling okay?" Cynthia asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Heidi asked.

"You're... Umm... You seem to have gotten in a good mood all of a sudden."

"Oh, Heidi has quick mood shifts," Trish lied. "Don't mind her."

"I see... But still..." Cynthia looked towards the bottle.

"Drink it. For me?"

"Umm... Okay!" Cynthia smiled at Trish. "For you, I'll do it."

"Good!" Trish smiled back.

Cynthia took the bottle into her hands, and untwisted its cap. Then, Trish and Heidi watched anxiously as she began to rapidly chug down the contents. Trish found it somewhat amusing that, for someone who was protesting it, she really did look to be thirsty. Soon, the entire bottle was empty, and Cynthia placed it onto the coffee table in front of her, before letting out a quiet belch.

"Wow..." Heidi was amazed.

"Hehe... Sorry," Cynthia apologised.

"You liar," Trish said. "Why didn't you say that you were thirsty?"

"I guess I didn't know that I was thirsty. Oops." Cynthia chuckled a little.

Trish shook her head. "You goofball."

Heidi walked towards the chair against the farside of the room, to the left of the couch, and sat down in it. "So, tell me, how did you two meet?"

"In the park," Cynthia responded. "She approached me, and we started talking, and I guess we clicked."

Trish looked along the floor of the room, looking for any sign of Greg.

"Somehow, I always knew that Trish would end up with a girl," Heidi said. "I've never EVER even heard her express interest in any guy!"

"But she told me that she's bisexual, so maybe something's still there."

"I say you find it and squash it, and then she'll be all yours!"

"I intend to do that. She had her quirks, but who doesn't?" Cynthia laughed. "...Hey, what are you looking for?"

Trish was suddenly shocked out of her search for the tiny man. "Uh... Oh. Um... Mice."

"Mice?" Cynthia's eyes widened. "You all have mice?"

"She's talking about my pet mouse," Heidi said. "He got out of his cage this morning, and I can't find him."

"Oh..." Cynthia turned towards Trish. "Why didn't you tell me that her mouse was running around? I could have squished him!"

"It slipped my mind," Trish said.

"That happens a lot, doesn't it?" Cynthia teased.

"Shut up," Trish teased back.

"You two make a cute couple," Heidi said, while giving them one of her rare smiles. A faked smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Thank you," Cynthia responded. "...Hey, are you single?"

This question seemed to surprise both Trish and Heidi.

"Yeah, why?" Heidi answered.

"Well, I could hook you up with someone, if you're interested."

"Thanks, but I'm not really looking right now."

"But you're beautiful! I'm sure any girl would kill to have you!"

Heidi laughed. "Maybe, but I'm also straight, so when I start looking again, I want to find a man."

"...Your loss." Cynthia shrugged. "Girls are better lovers, anyway."

"Really..."

"Yep." Cynthia looked towards Trish. "Anyway, Trishy-baby, are you ready to go-" Just then, something seemed to catch her eye, something behind Trish. "Whaa...?"

Trish and Heidi looked towards the entry way into the living room, and nearly jumped at what they saw--or rather who: Greg, who was slowly but surely making his way inside. However, he seemed to stop dead in his tracks as soon as Cynthia saw him.

Trish and Heidi briefly glanced at each other. Trish gulped, and Heidi stood from her chair and prepared to approach the tiny, nosy man. Trish awaited Cynthia's reaction; she wanted to be sure that her spell worked the way she wanted. If not, then she would be in more trouble with Heidi.

"Isn't that your mouse, Heidi?" Cynthia asked. "...He's kinda cute."

Greg didn't know what he was thinking. He had fallen asleep behind a large pot of plastic flowers that was set up against the back wall of the front hallway. When he woke up, he heard three female voices coming from the nearby bedroom. He quickly recognized two of them as Trish and Heidi, but the third one was unknown to him. Once again, his curiosity got the best of him, and he slowly creeped towards the door to get a closer look.

He reached the doorway and peeked inside. As he thought, Trish and Heidi were inside; Trish on the couch and Heidi in the chair besides it. Sitting next to Trish was an unfamiliar woman, with raven black hair tied in a pony tail and a skin tone that suggested that she was most likely Hispanic. Greg found her to be rather cute, but he wondered what she was doing in the house. Could she also be a witch?

Again going against his better judgement, he started to sneak inside, trying to stay as close to the wall as possible, and hoping that they would not see him.

"Whaa...?" said the voice of the third woman, in a slightly confused tone.

Greg looked toward the three girls, who's eyes were all on him. He froze in spot, unsure of what to do next.

"Is that your mouse, Heidi?" the black-haired woman asked. "...He's kinda cute."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "What? Mouse...?" he mumbled.

Trish and Heidi looked towards the woman, with slightly surprised expressions on their face. Then, Heidi's face lit up in what looked like a look of realization.

"Yeah!" Heidi said in an unusually excited tone. "I was looking all over for him!"

"What the hell?" Greg said, reacting to both Heidi's behavior and what she said.

Before he could react, Heidi rushed from where she was over to where he was, and kneeled down over him.

Greg backed away slightly from her. "What's goin-"

"Be quiet," she ordered quietly but with the familiar harshness that he had come to know. "Follow my lead."

Heidi's placed her right hand on the floor behind him, and with her left hand, she pushed him into its open palm. As he fell on his buttocks in her palm, she stood up and laid her other hand's palm on top of him. From between her hands, he could see her walk over to Trish and the third woman, both of whom were looking towards Heidi. Trish in particular looked to have an expression of concern on her face.

"I got 'em!" Heidi said, in the same bubbly manner as before. "He tried to run away from me, but I nabbed him before he could get away."

Heidi uncovered her palm, revealing Greg to Trish and the black-haired woman. Both of them looked down on him in Heidi's massive palm.

"This is Greg," Heidi said.

"He's even cuter up close!" The black-haired woman said in an affectionate tone, with the facial expression to match.

"Say 'hi' to Cynthia, Greg," Heidi ordered.

Greg looked up towards Heidi's face, pasted with an unusually bright smile. He did not know why, but seeing her this cheerful was even more frightening than her usual stone-faced demeanor. Instead of doing as she said Greg opted to remain silent. He had no idea what was currently going on.

"He's a bit shy," Heidi said towards Cynthia.

"Aww..." Cynthia moved her hand towards Greg. Heidi quickly pulled him from her, with such force that Greg nearly lost his balance and fell from her hand.

"What was that for?" Cynthia asked, a confused look on her face.

"Like I said," Heidi started, "Greg is shy around people. He might bite you."

"Oh... I just wanted to pet him. I've been bitten by mice before, so I'm numb to it. Can I touch him? Pleeeease?" Cynthia interlocked her fingers in front of her and brought her hands to her face, and looked into Heidi's face with a beggingly expression on her face.

"Umm..." Heidi looked towards Trish, and then back at Cynthia. "I need to prep him."

"What?" Cynthia said,before withdrawing her hands.

"Oh, you see... I try to encourage him to not bite people. THEN they can touch him." Heidi turned around and began to walk out of the living room.

"Where are you going?" Cynthia asked.

"It works better when unfamiliar people aren't around," Heidi answered. "...Trish, can you come with me?"

"...Sure, why not?" Trish replied, before turning to Cynthia. "I'll be back in a few."

"Okay, Trishy-baby." Cynthia smiled at Trish.

Heidi, with Trish in tow, walked out of the living room, across the front hall, through the kitchen, and into the back hallway. From there, they walked into Trish's bedroom, and once inside, Trish closed the door behind her. Heidi walked to Trish's bed, and sat down on it. She tilted her hand to the side, causing Greg to slide out of her palm and onto the mattress.

"You gotta admit," Trish said, "She can be very persuasive, can't she?"

Heidi let out a frustrated sigh.

"Okay!" Greg stood up on the mattress. "Can somebody tell me what's going on!?"

"Trish, in one of her many dim moments, has decided to bring one of her friends over here," Heidi answered.

"Hey..." Trish twitched, apparently taking offense to how Heidi had insulted her.

"I know that!" Greg said. "Why are you acting like I'm a mouse or something!?"

"Because of the drink that Trish gave Cynthia," Heidi replied. "It gives her the illusion that you're a mouse instead of a small human."

"But it only tricks the sight," Trish continued. "The other senses are unaffected, so if she tried to touch you... well..."

"...I... think I get it now..." Greg said, folding his arms.

"...So, do you have any more bright ideas?!" Heidi snapped at Trish.

"What!!" Trish flinched. "Me?! You're the one that brought me in here! I thought you came up with something! Besides, YOU were the one who almost made her touch him!"

"I only did it because I knew she would have wanted to see him up close. If she tried to touch him, I would stop her and explain why, which I did. But she still wants to pet him."

"Why don't you zap her memory?" Greg suggested.

Heidi looked down upon Greg. "We only do that when humans--humans not related to us by blood--know that we're witches. Cynthia does not know that, so-"

"Got it!" Trish suddenly exclaimed.

Both Greg and Heidi jumped in surprise at Trish's sudden outburst, and looked towards her.

"Stand up, Runt."

Greg glanced towards Heidi for a second, before doing as Trish ordered and standing to his feet. He found the mattress of Trish's bed somewhat hard to stand on, but he managed to keep his balance. Trish then pointed her index finger towards him, before a burst of magic flashed from its tip and sped across the room, and began to spiral around him. He then felt his torso, legs, and arms become warm. He looked downward, and saw that he was now wearing a grey fur costume that resembled a mouse's body. He looked behind him, and saw a long pink tail extending from his posterior. On the mattress besides him was a matching grey head that was shaped like a mouse's.

"What the hell is this?!" Greg exclaimed. "How is this going to help?! Most people can tell the difference between a real rat and a fake!"

"Weren't you listening?!" Trish said. "She'll still SEE you as a real mouse, and now you'll feel like one. All you gotta do is talk like a mouse. Squeaks and stuff."

"What...?" Greg raised an eyebrow.

"This better work," Heidi said as she stood up. "I mean it."

"I know it will." Trish got a somewhat cocky smile on her face. "It's flawless."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"Whatever." Trish opened her bedroom door behind her, and walked out of her room.

Heidi looked back towards the bed, particularly at Greg. "Put on the head, and let's go," she ordered in an annoyed tone.

"Alright, alright." Greg turned towards the mouse head, and picked it up. "You know, this isn't my fault, so you don't have to be mad at me."

"You should have stayed hidden until Cynthia left. As far as I'm concerned, you both are at fault."

Greg sighed, and then placed the foamy head onto his head. His world became dark, except for the two eyeholes at the front, which he had difficulty seeing anything through. He felt something push against him, which knocked him off of his feet. Now sitting down, he found himself being lifted from Trish's bed, and then carried out of the room.

He hoped that Trish's plan would work out, but still did not see why they could not just erase Cynthia's memory to be on the safe side.

~~~

Trish waited at the entrance into the kitchen, and looked back towards her bedroom. Before long, Heidi walked out, holding in the palm of her hand Greg, who was donned in the grey mouse costume that she had created with her magic.

Once Heidi drew closer, Trish walked into and through the kitchen, and then made her way into the living room, with Heidi following closely behind her. Once they arrived, they saw Cynthia sitting on the couch, waiting patiently for their return, no doubt.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Trish said.

"It's alright," Cynthia replied. "That was some prep you did in there."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you yelling from in here."

"Oh..." Trish's cheeks became slightly red.

Heidi laughed as she stepped ahead of Trish. "Oh, you know Trish! She has such a big mouth, but it's the only way to get Greg here to behave."

"I see." Cynthia stood up, and began to walk towards Heidi. "He must be a bad pet, but look at him now. He's just sitting there, not moving at all. Little cute thing..."

"You really want to pet him, don't you?" Trish asked. "Is it THAT important?"

"Not really," Cynthia answered as she stopped in front of . "I just like how their fur feels. It's all soft and warm."

"And you sure you don't mind being bitten?" Trish asked, despite knowing full well that Greg would not, or rather could not, bite her.

"I said that I didn't already." Cynthia looked at Trish, with a sly look on her face. "What, you worried that I'll get rabies?"

"No!" Trish quickly answered. "Why would we have a mouse with rabies?"

Cynthia laughed. "Good point."

She turned back towards Heidi, or more specifically, Greg, and reached out towards him with her right hand. Trish still found it odd that Cynthia was so fixated on touching what she thought was a mouse. Though she had nothing to worry about; after all, the plan that she had come up with was, as she said earlier, flawless.

Cynthia's fingers descended on Greg, and she began to rub his fur. Just then, Trish noticed a look of slight confusion on Cynthia's face.

"That's weird," Cynthia said.

"What?" Trish asked.

"I don't know what it is..." Cynthia started as she kept rubbing on Greg's fur. "But he feels... off."

"'Off'?" Heidi asked. "What do you mean? He feels like any other mouse, doesn't he?"

"He feels..." Cynthia paused for a moment, as she looked down at Greg. "...I don't know. He doesn't feel as warm as other mice. Plus, his skin feel kind of hard."

"That's weird," Heidi said. "I don't feel anything like that when I touch him. Isn't that right, Trish?" Heidi turned back towards Trish, with the familiar serious and angered look on her face that she had come to know.

"Uhh...!" Trish was a bit unnerved at Heidi's glare, before focusing back at Cynthia. "Yeah! Maybe there's something wrong with YOU!" She jokingly said, as Heidi looked back towards Cynthia.

"No, I'm quite sane," Cynthia said, as she withdrew her hand from Greg's furry body.

"Yeah, right." Trish rolled her eyes.

"...Maybe it IS me, though." Cynthia stared at Greg for several seconds. "...Can I hold him?" With both of her hands, she began to reach for him.

"...Sorry, but no," Heidi pulled Greg closer to her body, away from Cynthia's grasping hands. "I haven't made Greg THAT comfortable around strangers."

"Aww man..." Cynthia pouted.

"Anyway," Trish rushed towards Cynthia and grabbed her by the shoulders from behind, "we wasted enough time here. We should head for that computer store, before we spend too much time here and it closes on us." Trish then began to push Cynthia out of the living room and towards the front door. "Let's go, go, go!"

"Trishhh~!" Cynthia called. "Hey! Quit rushing me!"

"If you stay here any longer, you'd probably try to replace me with the rat!"

"You're getting jealous over a mouse? WOW...!"

"No, of course not!"

As the two reached the door, Cynthia looked back towards Heidi. "Nice to meet you Heidi! Maybe we'll see each other again. You and Gregie!"

"Same here," Heidi replied. "You two have fun on your little date. ...But Trish, before you leave, could I speak with you for a minute?"

Trish and Cynthia glanced at each other, before Trish released her grip from Cynthia's shoulders.

"Wait outside for a minute," Trish ordered.

"Okay."

Cynthia opened the front door, and walked outside. Trish closed the door behind her, but did not shut it completely. Trish then walked into the living room, where Heidi waited for her, Greg still sitting in the palm of her hands. As expected, her faked cheery demeanor was completely gone; instead was her usual serious self.

"When you get back, I'm going to punish you for this," Heidi said.

"What?!" Trish was shocked. "The plan worked! She didn't find out about us!"

"She almost did. Plus, there's the fact that you brought her in here in the first place."

"...So, how am I going to be punished? You're going to take away my powers?"

"You're lucky. If she did find out about us, I might have seriously considered it. But I'll be lenient. I'm still not going to tell you what it is, though. Just don't think about it while you're out. I don't want you to be so fixated on it that you can't enjoy your date." Heidi smiled mockingly.

Trish stared at Heidi for a few seconds, before turning around and walking out of the living room, and then out of the house. Cynthia had taken a few steps away from the door, but was waiting for her, just as she had told her to. Trish pulled her keys out of her pocket, and closed and locked the front door behind her.

"What was that all about?" Cynthia asked as Trish approached her.

"Oh, nothing," Trish answered. "Just wanted to know when I'll be back and all that."

Cynthia folded her arms. "I don't see why I had to leave for that."

"Well, I didn't know what she wanted me for. It could have been some super-huge, mega secret that you weren't supposed to hear."

Cynthia scrunched her mouth to the side, and looked at Trish as if she thought she was being silly.

"What?"

"Okay, Trish. Whatever you say." Cynthia shook her head, and then began to walk away from Trish, towards the sidewalk.

"Where are you going?" Trish asked.

"That computer store," Cynthia answered. "We're still going, right?"

"Of course we are! Wait for me!"

Trish ran to accompany Cynthia, who had taken her first steps onto the sidewalk in front of the house. The two young women then turned to their right, and began to walk down the road, eventually leaving Trish's house behind and out of sight.

Deep inside, Trish was relieved. The plan that she had come up with was not as perfect as she had thought it would be, but in the end, it worked. She was almost grateful at Greg for playing his part as well. Unfortunately, Heidi was still not very happy at all with her, and she was not looking forward to whatever Heidi had planned for her when she got back.

She had to find a way to make her day with Cynthia last as long as she could. Even if it meant finding mundane activities to do with her.

"Trishy-baby?" Cynthia called. "What're you thinking about? You're being awfully quiet."

"Oh! Nothing," Trish replied. "Nothing about stuck-up and overbearing witches. Nope. Nothing like that." She chuckled nervously.

"...You're so weird."

~~~

Sitting in Heidi's giant palm, Greg placed both of his palms on either sides of the giant foam mouse head covering his head, and pulled it off of him. His eyes stung slghtly from the light rushing into his retinas, as they had been in the darkness of the head for too long.

"That was a close one," Greg said, before tossing the mouse head down to the floor below. He reached behind his back, looking for some kind of zipper, but did not find anything. "Son of a..."

"Now, as for you," Heidi's voice said from behind.

Greg turned around, and saw her looking down upon him. From where he was, her face seemed much larger than he had ever seen her before; her serious demeanor--and her emerald green eyes both looking right at him--was much more intimidating than ever.

"Me!?" Greg exclaimed. "What did I do?!"

"You already know what you did." Heidi began to kneel down onto the floor. "As I said earlier, you should have stayed hidden until Cynthia left."

"But Trish's plan worked- Oh wait... You're still going to get her..."

"That's right." Upon reaching the floor, Heidi grabbed Greg out of her palm by the tail of his mouse costume, and placed him on the floor in front of her bare feet. Then, she stood back upright, as Greg watched her loom over him like she usually did.

"So, are you going to tell me what you're going to do to me?" Greg asked as he stood up, though struggling a bit due to the costume.

"No."

"Of course not." Greg sighed.

Heidi stepped over him, and began to make her way out of the living room. Greg watched her as she nearly walked out of the living room, before looking downward at the fake fur that covered almost all of his body.

"Oh, right. ...Hey!!" Greg yelled out. "Wait!!"

Heidi stopped, and looked back towards him.

"You think you could get this thing off of me? It's making me hot."

Heidi turned around and stepped a bit closer to him. "Why not?"

She pointed her indea finger towards him, which released a bolt of magic that fired directly at him. The powder-like magic circled around his body, gradually lowing onto the floor, as the fur costume faded from his body with it. As the spiraling magic reached the floor and disappeared, the mouse costume was completely gone from his body. Greg instantly felt his body cool down, his sweaty hands dry off, and his limbs felt much more free.

"Thanks," Greg said.

"Mm." Heidi then turned back around and walked out of the living room. Greg then heard the back door open, and then shut.

Greg looked around the room, before something to his left caught his eye: the fake grey mouse head. It seemed that Heidi seemed to have either forgotten about it, or did not deem it important enough. It would most like be disposed of later, so Greg decided to leave it be. He then began to make his way back towards Parvati's bedroom. He did not know what time it currently was, but the next thing on his agenda was to wait for Parvati to arrive back home. That, and wonder what Heidi had in store for him.

He hoped that it was not anything too strict.

~~~

Greg laid on the sole of Parvati's right red flip-flop, his fingers interlocked behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling, dozing in and out of reality. Once again, he was disappointed that Parvati opted to wear her ballet flats to her job that morning. He almost missed seeing the thongs of her flip-flops being worked between her toes.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching the bedroom, familiar footsteps. Greg sat up and watched the doorway expectedly. Sure enough, Parvati walked into the room, carrying her purse and wearing a white blouse with small flower designs, blue jeans, and those white flats.

She looked towards Greg on her sandal, and gave him a smile. "Good afternoon, my pet." She closed the door behind her.

"Good afternoon, my Goddess," Greg replied, a smile of his own on his face. "How was work?"

Parvati walked towards her bed. "It wasn't anything special. I just got my paycheck, and that's it."

"I see." Greg slid off of her flip-flop, as she sat down on her bed.

Parvati placed her purse on the bed beside her, and reached down to remove her shoes from her feet. "So, what did you do today?" She pulled off her right flat and set it on the floor next to her.

"Nothing much. It was pretty boring." Greg lied.

"That's not good." Parvati removed her left flat from its foot, and set it down besides its partner, before sitting up again. "You were waiting all day for me, weren't you?"

"Well, yeah." Greg glanced at her massive feet near him.

Parvati giggled. "I know what you want." Each of her toes wiggled. "You are so predictable."

"Well, it HAS been over seven months..."

"Hah... Why don't you kiss 'em?" Parvati suggested.

"Yes, my Goddess." Greg made his way towards Parvati's gigantic feet. They looked beautiful, though he had since come to expect nothing less from Parvati.

As he was within inches of her left foot, Greg reached his hands out for it. However, before he could touch her flesh, both of her feet lifted off of the floor. He then found himself falling forward onto the floor. He looked upward, and saw that Parvati had her legs crossed on the bed while she was looking down upon him.

"What gives?" Greg asked, a bit confused and annoyed.

"Sorry, but you can't do that now," Parvati replied.

"Huh? Why?" Greg stood to his feet. "Is it because of Heidi? I thought it was okay to do little stuff."

"Heidi told me what happened earlier."

"What...?"

"That was a close one, but you and Trish are in trouble. Heidi will take care of Trish, so that leaves you with me."

"W-what are you going to do?" Greg asked.

"...Twenty-four hours. No feet for you."

"What!!?" said a shocked and dismayed Greg. "C'mon! Don't do that to me!"

"Sorry. It was Heidi's suggestion, and I'm going to enforce it."

"Can't you do something else to me instead?"

"I made my decision." Parvati looked towards her nightstand, where her digital clock was. "At 4:49pm tomorrow, you can kiss my foot all you want. For now, you'll just have to be a sight-pleaser."

"...Man..." Greg dropped his head in disappointment, and slowly began to walk underneath Parvati's bed.

"By the way," Parvati said.

Greg looked up towards the giant woman.

"Heidi said that the mouse costume you had on was going to be your original punishment, but since you asked her to remove it, she had to find an 'even worse way to torture' you."

Greg's mouth dropped. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me." He slapped his palm against his forehead.

"Sorry, my pet. I guess if you wanted to play with the girls, you should have endured that costume, at least until Trish got home. I can't reverse her spells like Heidi can."

Greg sighed, and continued to make his way underneath the giant bed, and then towards his dollhouse.

Heidi had gotten him good. As he walked, he wondered what she had in store for Trish, the person responsible for what happened that day in the house.

~~~

Trish walked into her dark room, and flipped on the switch on the wall, which illuminated the room with light from the ceiling. It was just past 10pm; she had prolonged her date with Cynthia for as long as she could, coming up with meager excuses for them to stay out. However, Cynthia had to work the next day, so she eventually had to go back to her apartment. That left Trish with nowhere else to go but come back home.

Despite wanting to enjoy her day with Cynthia, she found it hard to focus on her date; Heidi's punishment, whatever it would turn out to be, was on her mind throughout the whole day. She knew that the date did suffer somewhat, but she just could not help it. Hopefully next time, she could go out with Cynthia without that burden on her mind.

She closed the door behind her, and then looked towards her bed. She noticed a sheet of folded-up paper set upon it. She approached her bed, navigating her way around her piles of clothes that she still had not cleaned up. Upon reaching the bed, she grabbed the paper, and unfolded it. It seemed to be a note, addressed to her from none other than Heidi. She began to read:

Trish rolled her eyes, and continued reading:

Trish gulped, and nervously read on:

"What the hell?" Trish said, flabbergasted.

Trish stared at the note for a few seconds, before falling forward onto her bed and sighing loudly. She could not believe that she had gotten so worked up over nothing.

Then, a small polaroid picture fell from behind the note that she held. Trish picked up the picture, and saw that there was a smaller note attached to it via a paperclip:

Sure enough, in the polaroid was an image of a small grey mouse that looked to be standing on one of Trish's clothing piles. In the picture was yet another note, set out in front of the mouse; it almost looked as if the mouse was holding the sheet of paper in its front paws. Trish squinted her eyes to read the message on this third note:

Trish sighed again, before removing her glasses from her head and burying her face into her mattress.

With his pajamas and hair in a ragged mess, Greg groggily walked into the kitchen of his doll house. He dragged his feet across the floor as he made his way across the floor and to the refrigerator in the far corner. After opening it, he found a half-eaten homemade hamburger wrapped up in alluminum foil; might as well finish it off for breakfast, he figured, before pulling it out of the refrigerator.

As he microwaved the burger, he looked out of his kitchen window, out into the darkness of the space underneath Parvati's bed. He was still annoyed that Parvati had banned him from his usual "playtime" because of what happened yesterday with Trish and her friend, even moreso that he had to share the dollhouse with the root cause of his punishment.

He thought back to the night before, how Heidi had practically teased him over his not being able to play with Parvati's feet. He wondered how someone with such power in the Aurora Realm--a General Witch--could act so petty. He hoped that Heidi was just an exception of the General Witches, and not the rule.

The microwave dinged as it completed its cycle, he opened the microwave's door and grabbed the hamburger--with its melted cheese and ketchup slightly pouring down the side that had been eaten--out of the appliance, before shutting the door and turning around to head for the table. As he did so, he was taken by surprise at the sight of Heidi sitting at that very table; so much so that he dropped his meal onto the floor.

"Dammit!" Greg blurted, at both his wasted food and at Heidi's sudden appearance. "When did you get in here?! I didn't even hear you!"

"Is that so?" Heidi said in a somewhat arrogant tone. "Maybe it's because I walk so lightly, or it could've been because you were so focused on your processed cow meat to notice me take a seat. Maybe a little of both." She smiled devilishly.

Greg grumbled. "Man... You can be such a pain in the-"

Heidi cut him off. "Well, then I guess you'll be happy to hear this."

"What?"

"Today, I'm going to go back to the Aurora Realm to issue my report on you three."

"Really?" Greg was slightly surprised. "...They're not going to get Parvati and Trish over me being here, are they?"

"I already said that it would be okay, so long as you three didn't do anything too extreme. ...That said, you should still cross your fingers in case something happens."

"You can bet I will. ...And then this will be the last that we'll see of you?"

Heidi chuckled slightly. "I wouldn't say that. Life is full of uncertainties."

"Well, I'm certain that I won't be looking forward to seeing you again."

"Don't delude yourself," Heidi said in a teasing manner. "You know that you're going to miss seeing me. Me and my feet."

"Yeah, right." Greg grunted. "No on both counts. Plus, your feet are dirty because you walk around barefoot all the time. Even outside."

"Oh really?" Heidi then lifted her right foot from the floor and pointed the sole towards him. "Does this look dirty to you?"

Greg looked at her sole. He did not want to get too close to her, but from where he stood, he could not make out a single speck of dirt on her sole. He was surprised at how silky and creamy her foot looked; something that was always being "blocked" by the dirt. Of course, she most likely used her magic to pull off this feat. Nonetheless, he was a bit mesmerized at her curling her toes and scrunching her sole.

"...Wow..." Greg said as he stared at her sole. "Not so often that you see a hippie with clean feet..."

"You make it sound like we never wash ourselves," Heidi said as she pulled her foot back and placed it flat on the floor. "We're not savages."

"...So you ARE a hippie."

Heidi shrugged. "More or less."

Greg looked down at the splattered food on the floor at his feet. He sighed, and kneeled down to clean up the mess.

"Let me help you," Heidi said.

Suddenly, the splattered burger began to glow with a white, sparkling light, before it disappeared from Greg's sight. Greg looked up, towards the table, and saw the burger sitting on the tabletop--good as new as if it had never been dropped.

"Uhmm..." Greg said while staring at the restored burger.

"I believe the words you're looking for are 'Thank you'," Heidi said.

"Yeah. ...Thanks." He stood back upright and then walked to the table.

"Mm-hmm." Heidi then stood up from the chair that she was sitting in. "I'm going out there to tell them about my report. They're going to have to go with me too, so you may be alone for a few hours."

"I'm not going?" Greg asked as he took his seat.

"No," Heidi answered. "Humans aren't allowed in the Aurora Realm. But if they ask to see your condition, then I'll make an exception."

"...Great..." Greg sighed. "I'm looking forward to that..."

"I doubt they'll ask for you, though. They usually take my word for it. They've long since learned to trust me."

"I'm sure that makes you feel so good."

Heidi smiled slyly. "You have no idea." After that, she turned around and walked out of the kitchen. Greg soon heard the front door open, and then close; a sign that she had left the dollhouse.

Greg looked down at his magically-repaired burger, and took notice to something; instead of being half-eaten as it was when he had retrieved it from the refrigerator, it was whole--as if it hadn't been eaten into at all.

Greg shrugged, took his meal in both hands, and bit into it. After chewing the piece he bit off, he suddenly noticed that the meat tasted a bit different. He took a closer look at the burger, and saw that the "meat" was not meat at all; instead, it was some kind of vegan immitation.

"...Touché, Heidi," Greg said, before standing up from his chair, food in hand, and dumping it in the trash bin.

~~~

The morning light shone into the living room as Parvati sat on the couch, watching the local news on television. Trish sat in the chair off to the side, also watching the television but also eating a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

"Hey, Par," Trish called. "You got anything planned for today?"

"No, not really," Parvati answered. "Maybe go shopping a little later, but other than that, nothing. Why?"

"I was thinking that we should go to the bowling alley."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I'm going to get Cynthia to come, too. Then, you two can finally meet."

"Didn't Cynthia get you in trouble yesterday?"

"That's in the past. I'm not going to being her over here again until I decide to tell her I'm a witch."

"When do you plan to tell her?"

"...Maybe in a few weeks."

"I see..."

"So, you want to come?"

"I guess. I just need to find something to keep Greg occupied."

"Right... Because he's still being punished."

"I'm sure that by the time we leave, his punishment is going to be over. It's just 24 hours, after all."

"I bet he must be going crazy, not being able to have a little toejam." Trish chuckled.

"He'll live," Parvati said. "But I'd love to go with you."

"Great!" Trish smiled. "I'll have to call Cynthia and let her-"

"Depending on how long our appointment takes, you two might not be going at all," said a familiar voice from the hallway.

Both Parvati and Trish looked towards the hallway, and watched as Heidi walked into the living room.

"What are you talking about?" Trish asked.

"Today, I'm going to the Aurora Realm to make my report," Heidi answered.

"...So?"

"You two have to come with me."

Trish was surprised. "What?! Why?!"

"It's the standard," Heidi answered. "The subjects of the report have to stand before the Council as I'm explaining my experience with them. It's been that way for- well, let's just say that it's been that way for a long time."

Trish pouted. "Man..."

"When are we going to leave?" Parvati asked.

"At around 12," Heidi answered. "That should give you two some time to psych yourselves. After all, it will be the first time you will be facing the Head Witches." She smiled slyly. "But I wouldn't worry too much about it."

With that being said, Heidi then turned around and walked out of the living room. They then soon heard the back door open, and close; a sign that she had stepped out into the backyard.

Trish sighed. "Great. My plans have been shot."

"Don't say that," Parvati said. "We could be back before it's too late."

"I suppose, but after meeting those old hags, I might not have it in me to do anything."

"I'm sure it won't be too bad. ...I HOPE it won't be too bad..."

"What if they yell at you for having the Runt?"

"Umm... Given the circumstances around his being here, it shouldn't be too bad, right? That's what Heidi said; since he willingly became my 'property'."

"I guess." Trish shrugged. "I hope they don't mind, either. I kinda like the little guy."

Parvati laughed. "Kinda?"

"Yes, kinda! The little toe-fucker can be annoying."

"Admit it: You enjoy him being here, too. At the very least, he's the only one who can give you a run for your money in your video games."

"Well, he's the only one in this house that can challenge me. ...I guess you have a point. But he's still annoying."

Parvati looked at the clock that hung from the wall. It read 9:53. "I'm going to go for a walk; to clear my head a bit. What about you? Do you wanna come?" She grabbed her keys from the table.

Trish shook her head. "I'll just stay here."

"Okay, then." Parvati stood from the couch, and departed from the living room. Afterwards, she headed for the front door, and exited the house and walked into the bright, warm air of the world outside. She locked the door behind her, and then started to walk away from the house and onto the sidewalk.

She sighed. She had a feeling that Heidi's assignment would be ending soon, but she had no idea that she and Trish would have to face the Head Witches as well. While she had told Trish that they could return before it became too late, she had to agree that, after it was all said and done, she may not be up for much else afterwards either.

Perhaps, if it's early enough, she could remove Greg from his punishment sooner than she had initially said.

~~~

Having walked out of his humble abode--having since discarded his pajamas for a black jogging suit--Greg made his way out from the dark cavern of Parvati's bed and towards the open floor. Parvati herself was not presently in, and had not been in for at least a few hours. At that point, it was nearing noon.

As he reached light, he heard footsteps approaching the room from beyond the doorway. He had since learned to recognize those footsteps as belonging to Parvati herself. He became excited, but at the same time, also disappointed because of his punishment.

"Sight-pleaser, indeed..." Greg sighed.

Seconds later, as expected, Parvati walked into the room. She immediately headed for her bathroom and closed the door after entering inside, not so much as even glancing his way during the entire time.

"Weird," Greg said to himself. Though he figured that she had already been told of Heidi's report, so she most likely had other things on her mind at the moment.

Several minutes later, Parvati walked out of her bathroom, wearing a different attire than she did when she first walked in; a red dress without sleaves and its skirt stopping at her knees, and there was a white band around its waist. Underneath the dress, she wore a long-sleaved white shirt.

"You look nice," Greg said as she walked towards the bed.

"Thanks," Parvati responded. "We have to go meet with the Head Witches today, and Heidi never said whether we'd have to dress formally or not. So I decided to play it safe and find some middle ground. If Heidi doesn't approve, I can always use my magic."

Upon reaching the bed, she kneeled down onto the floor besides Greg and reached under her bed. Afterwards, she pulled out her pair of red flip-flops, the very pair that Greg had tried to get her to wear days before. Needless to say, Greg became rather excited at her decision of footwear.

"Good choice," he said.

"I know," Parvati responded, before standing up and sliding her feet into the sandals. "Like I said, if Heidi doesn't like it, I'll just change."

"Heidi walks around barefoot all the time, I bet even in the other world." Greg folded his arms. "If she says something about it, then she's a hypocrite."

"I guess you have a point."

"When are you supposed to be leaving?"

"In a few minutes, supposedly."

"Wow, really. I'm glad I'm not going, then. I'm not even ready to face a bunch of old hags."

Parvati smiled slyly. "How do you know that they're old?"

"I don't know... Something about a bunch of powerful witches with that much political power makes me think that they're all a bunch of fossils."

"Well, when we get back, I'll let you know if you're right or not."

"Yo, Par!!" Trish's voice called from outside of the room. "Hurry up! It's time to go!!"

"...That was fast..." Greg said.

Parvati sighed. "Well, I guess that's my cue. I'll see you later, my pet." After grabbing her purse from her bed, she turned around and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait!" Greg called out.

Parvati stopped and turned to face him. "Hm?"

"Could I... You know give you a good luck kiss?"

Parvati stared at him for a few seconds before smiling. "I know what you're getting at. You know you're still on punishment."

Greg swung his fist below him. "Drat."

Parvati chuckled. "Just wait a little longer, and you'll be able to have all the fun you want with the girls." She winked at him, before leaving out of the bedroom and into the hall.

"...So, what do I do now?" Greg asked himself. This was not the first time that he was to be left alone in the house, but everytime he found himself with barely anything to amuse himself for the duration. Especially today, on a Saturday, when Parvati would usually be home.

~~~

Both Trish and Heidi stood in the front hallway, both prepared to depart for the Aurora Realm and were awaiting Parvati's arrival.

"It's almost time," Heidi said somewhat impatiently. "She needs to hurry up."

"Relax," Trish said. "She'll be out soon. Besides, will it really matter if we're a few minutes late?"

"Yes. The Head Witches are very punctual with their appointments, and they'll take it out on me if you're late. Then, I'll in turn make your lives a living hell." As she said this, Heidi looked at Trish with a rather dark look in her eyes.

Trish cringed, and turned towards the kitchen doorway. "Yo, Par!!" She yelled. "Hurry up! It's time to go!!"

Heidi smirked. "That's better."

A minute later, Parvati finally walked into the hallway. She looked at Heidi, then Trish, and then Heidi again.

"How do I look?" Parvati asked her.

"You look fine," Heidi answered. "Now, then... Since you're both ready, I'm going to open the Dimensional Gate."

Heidi stepped ahead, towards the house's front door, and then motioned her glowing right hand in front of her in some kind of pattern; both Parvati and Trish knew that this geisture was one that the General Witches used to open up the pathway to the Aurora Realm. Indeed, after Heidi finished, a hole in space began to open up right in front of where the door was; a hole big enough for them to walk through. Inside of the hole was a spiraling vortex of neon lights, neither Parvati or Trish could see what was on the other side of the hole.

Heidi then turned towards Parvati and Trish. "Let's go." Then, she stepped forward and walked into the portal.

Parvati and Trish looked at each other, both with nervous looks on their faces, before Trish started for the portal, with Parvati following behind her. Once Parvati stepped into the hole, it closed behind her, sealing off the entrance into the Aurora Realm from the Human Realm. ...For the time being.

~~~

Trish and Parvati stepped out of the portal and onto a large marble balcony overlooking a deep pit, where Heidi was already standing and awaiting them. To their left were dozens of stairs ascending upward, towards a building that sat at the top of the steps. However, Trish's attention was caught by the strange sky; a watery-like backdrop with constantly shifting neon colors. This unnatural sky served to unnerve her.

"It's weird, right?" Heidi asked Trish. "This is your first time in the Aurora Realm, so it's understandable to be creeped out by it."

"How can anyone live in a place like this?" Trish asked.

"You get used to it. Especially for those who have lived here for centuries."

"I don't think I'd ever get used to this..." Trish said.

"Anyway, the Council is up these stairs."

"We're going to have to climb them? Why didn't you just warp us up there?"

"It's against the rules."

"Well, can we use magic to float up there?"

Heidi shook her head. "There are only 50 steps here. Quit being so lazy."

"'Only 50...'?" Trish twitched. "What, do you climb, like, 500 stairs every day?"

"Trish, please," Parvati scolded, before turning to Heidi. "Lead the way, Heidi."

Heidi nodded, before she turned to their left and began to walk up those many stairs. Parvati and Trish followed after her, and climbed the stairs as well. All the while, Trish could not keep her eyes from the sky; the way it wavered and shifted from pink to yellow to lime to azure and then to pink again. Such a strange sky; see it made her realized how much she took the blue sky back in the Human World for granted.

Soon, the three reached the top, and Parvati and Trish saw that the building that they had seen before from the base of the stairs was rather larger than they thought. In addition, from here, they could see that this area had several more building off to the side, and that it was quite busy with activity.

Heidi started to walk towards the large building, where the Council was supposedly headed. Once again, Parvati and Trish followed her through the crowds of the other witches, some of whom stared at the two of them and others who even waved at Heidi, who waved back at each one.

"Heidi has friends?" Trish whispered to Parvati.

Parvati chuckled, though she was careful so that Heidi did not hear her. "Oh, hush..."

Soon enough, they had reached the main building; an imposing, old-fashioned structure that was most likely far older than it looked. Heidi stopped at the entrance, and turned back towards them.

"This is it..." she said. "Are you two ready?"

Parvati nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Trish said, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Okay, then." Heidi walked towards the closed door, and grabbed onto its handle. "Go on in."

She pulled the door open, and held it so that Parvati and Trish could walk inside. They did so, and Heidi followed in after them. They found themselves in a long corridor, with doors lining the walls on both sides. At the far end of the hall was a pair of wooden doors.

"More walking?" Trish sighed.

"Yes," Heidi responded. "The Council is in the room just up ahead. They're expecting us, so we'd best not keep them waiting."

The three then made one final trek, this time down the long hallway to those two doors at the end. Upon reaching them, sparkling white dust began to gather in front of the door and take the form of a humanoid figure. Once the mass finished collecting, Parvati and Trish saw that it resembled a robed man with his hood covering most of his grey face.

The figure spoke, "Parvati Singh and Trish Hubbard?"

"Yes," Heidi answered. "They are ready to meet with the Council."

"...Enter."

With no assistance at all, the doors behind him opened on their own as the robed man disappeared into the same sparkling dust that formed him and then flew away as if they were blown by some kind of wind.

Heidi entered into the room first. Parvati and Trish looked at each other briefly, before they too walked into the room. Upon entering, the doors behind them closed on their own, and then standing in front of each door was one of those strange grey-skinned men; as if they were guarding them.

Parvati and Trish looked ahead, , beyond Heidi, and saw five elderly-looking women sitting at a long wooden desk at the far end of the room. They each wore robes, each of differing colors; starting from the left: burgundy, orange, teal, turquoise, and dark grey.

There was no doubt. These were the Head Witches; the governing rulers of the Aurora Realm, and of the Witches in general.

"Welcome back, Ms. Light," said the second from the right, the one in the turquoise robe. "And right on time as always. Are these two your assignment?"

Heidi nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. I have brought Parvati Singh and Trish Hubbard. They are ready for their query."

"Is that so?" said the one donning the orange robe.

Heidi looked back at the two, and nudged her head towards the panel.

"Y-yes," Parvati answered.

"Uh-huh," Trish replied as well.

"Very well," said the teal-robed Witch. "Then let us begin."

Greg opened his eyes, and saw nothing. Or, to be more specific, he saw darkness. Pitch black all around him. He did not know where he was, or how he had gotten there, for that matter. Perhaps he should not have been so surprised after everything he had seen during his time with Parvati and Trish, but this still unnerved him.

Suddenly, a bright light opened up behind him. He turned around, and was nearly blinded by its luminosity, but with his right hand covering his eyes just enough so that he could still see, he ran towards the opening. Before long, the darkness was completely gone, and all he could see was blinding light.

When his vision returned, he found himself in a strange room, with a shiny wooden floor as if it has just been polished. However, there was no furniture--no chairs, tables, shelves, cabinets, or anything of the sort. In fact, there was not even a doorway leading into the room; for that matter, he did not see where he had come from before, as if it has never existed after all. Of course, he was still his usual 3-inch-tall self.

"There you are," said a familiar feminine voice from behind.

Greg's heart skipped a beat as he turned around to behold the sight of who was addressing him: it was none other than Heidi. She was standing over him--her hands placed on her hips--while looking at him with her bright green eyes.

"So, I was told that you like being stepped on like a little bug," she said. Then, her mouth formed a small smirk. "At least this way, we'll both be satisfied."

Heidi lifted her bare foot over his body, allowing Greg to see her unusually clean sole. He did not have time to marvel for long, as the giant ped soon descended upon him. By the time it dawned on him to run away from this impending death, it was too late as her foot soon pressed him into the floor, crushing his entire body flat in the process.

~~~

Greg awoke in a frenzied shock. He looked around himself, and found that he was back in his dollhouse, laying on the couch that he had taken a nap on.

He breathed a sigh of disappointment. "Why did I have to dream about her? It should have been Parvati."

That fact mystified him, but he could not ignore the fact that the dream had excited him in a way that was physically noticable.

However, he was relieved that after today, he would not have to deal with Heidi anymore.

Parvati and Trish stood behind Heidi, their hearts racing due to them standing before the Head Witches for the first time. Parvati wondered how other witches before her handled the stress of the situation, if the weight of those five sets of judgemental eyes all staring at them at once was enough to drive them insane.

"Before we begin," said the witch in the teal robe, "I think we should introduce ourselves. Call me Head Witch Indigo."

"Head Witch Amber," said the orange-robed witch.

"Head Witch Emerald here," said the one bearing the turquoise robe.

"I'm Head Witch Taupe," said the witch to the far right, wearing the grey robe.

"...And last, but certainly not least," said the burgundy-robed witch in a slightly arrogant tone, "I'm Head Witch Scarlet."

"As you can see, our names are easy to remember," said Indigo, adding a smile at the end of her sentence.

"O... okay...?" said Trish rather unconvincingly.

Indigo, as well as the other Head Witches, turned her attention back to Heidi.

"Ms. Light," Indigo spoke, "Tell us what your experience with these two was."

"Interesting, but nothing too remarkable," Heidi replied. "They did not use their powers for any illegal reason, at least from what I saw. There was a close call with a human friend of Trish's, but we were able to avert any problems that we may have had if she found out about us."

"I see..." said Taupe.

"And, as you know, there was the incident with Irene, who broke into the house and tried to attack me. There was no permanent damage to the household, and these two were out of the house at the time, so-"

"I'm curious," Emerald suddenly interrupted. "How exactly did Trish's friend nearly find out about us?"

"Umm... Well, you see..." Heidi looked back at Parvati, who gave a bit of a nervous nod. She knew exactly where this latest question would be going, and she knew that they would find out about Greg sooner or later.

"Parvati has a human living with them," Heidi answered.

This latest revelation brought about a mix of reactions from the Head Witches, from appall from Amber and Emerald, to indifference from Scarlet.

"Again!?" Emerald said, with a tone of shock in her voice. "When will you learn that nothing good can ever come from humans learning of our existence?! Need I remind you of the Witch Trials of Salem?!"

"I beg your pardon," said Parvati, "but that was nearly four centuries ago."

"I remember it like it was yesterday!" Emerald ranted on. "There was not a witch in that town, but even the power of that word was great enough to execute innocent women! Humans cannot handle the existence of our kind of beings well!"

"She's right," Amber agreed. "Imagine what would happen if a witch lended her powers to one of the Human World's more corrupt leaders. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, as one human once said."

"Come now, ladies," Scarlet spoke. "We've been through this many times before. You don't even know what the human is like, or what the situation is like in their house. Please, Ms. Light, continue with your report."

Emerald and Amber grumbled a bit, before focusing back on Heidi. Parvati knew that those two would be the biggest hurdles to cross during this assessment.

"Most of all," Indigo said before Heidi could speak, "how would the presence of a human tip off another human of our existence? Tell us."

Heidi nodded. "This human--his name is Greg Turner--has a rather unusual kink, a few in fact. Most importantly is his... how should I put this? He is turned on by being around much larger women."

The Head Witches looked at Heidi, with curious and confused looks on their faces.

"You mean, fat women?" Scarlet said rather bluntly.

Parvati and Trish were taken aback by her comment; they could not help but crack a smile despite the situation. However, Parvati was also bracing herself for their reactions upon hearing the truth.

"No. At least, not as far as I know. I mean larger, as in that human fairy tale 'Jack and the Beanstalk'."

"Okay, and...?" Scarlet said. "What has that to do with what you're trying to tell us?"

"He is kept as a pet, if you will. This may sound inhumane, but he went along with it willingly. And when I say 'pet', I mean it; at all times, his stature is only a meager three inches tall."

"What?!" said Indigo, Scarlet, Emerald, and Amber together; the looks on their faces portrayed utter shock, and perhaps even disgust. Taupe, however, did not look to make a noticable reaction.

"Geez..." Parvati mutter to herself.

"As I said, he went along with it. In addition, he is very easy to control, not only because of his height--or the lack thereof--but because of his other kink-"

"T-That's okay, Ms. Light," Indigo interrupted, a bit embarrassed. "I think we get the point. No need to go any further."

"Parvati," Amber called, looking directly at her. "Tell us about this 'Greg Turner'. How long has he been with you, and what's he look like?"

"Well..." Parvati was taken by surprise; she did not expect to have to describe her little "pet". "Greg's been with us for a bit over seven months now. He is a handsome man, but he can be arrogant, maybe even rude at times. But overall he's a good person."

"At first, I was also unsure about him," Trish said, "but Par's right. I can't imagine life without the Runt. He's the only one who can even give me a decent challenge in my video games, because Lord knows that Par and Heidi can't."

"Interesting..." Indigo said. "He sounds less like a 'pet', and more like a friend."

Parvati and Trish looked at each other briefly, before turning back to the Head Witches.

"In many ways, he IS a good friend," Parvati stated.

The Head Witches chattered amongst themselves, before addressing the witches.

"We see the good, and the potential bad here," Indigo said. "We will take the time to deliberate in the other room. You three go wait out in the hall until we've made our decision."

With these words, the five Head Witches stood from their seats, and each walked towards a doorway on the left side of the room. After Taupe, the last of the Head Witches, entered inside, the door closed seemingly on its own, locking Parvati and Trish from hearing any of what commotion would be occuring inside.

Heidi turned around to face the two. "We should go out there, like they said."

Parvati nodded in agreement, and the three headed out of the room through the set of doors behind them; the two enigmas that had been guarding the doors opened them for the Witches and allowed them to pass through, before closing them shut once more.

To their left and right were two sets of benches, with cushioned seats. The hallway was silent, perhaps eerily so.

Heidi walked towards one of the benches to their left, and sat down upon it. "Have a seat," she said. "This could take a while."

Both Parvati and Trish did as she said, and sat down on of the benches to their right, directly opposite of the one that Heidi was sitting on.

"...When you say 'while'," Trish started, "how long do you mean?"

"It depends," Heidi answered, folding her arms and crossing her legs. "They can get into really heated arguments. Most cases take at least an hour or two; the longest query that I've been involved with took over 8 hours."

Both Parvati and Trish cringed.

"...Of course, I was with that witch for two months," Heidi continued. "She did a lot of questionable things that the Head Witches had a field day with." She chuckled a bit. "They became so heated during their private deliberations that I was almost afraid that one of them would start throwing magic. ...That was around 30 years ago, though, and I think that they've mellowed out a bit since. But after that, they won't let me or my subjects stay inside of there anymore."

"Thirty years...?" Trish said, a hint of surprise in her voice. "...Wait, so how old are you, anyway?"

"That's none of your business," Heidi replied in rather serious tone.

"Oh, come on. We already know that you're older than the both of us."

"And that's all you need to know."

Trish sighed in disappointment, then turned to Parvati and whispered, "How old do you think she is?"

"I'm not going to answer that, especially not right in front of her," Parvati answered.

Trish looked back to see Heidi leering right in her direction. Trish laughed nervously, and then said to her, "Okay, I'll forget about it. Stop looking at me like that."

Without a word, Heidi looked away from the two women, while Trish let out a sigh or relief. Parvati could tell that that whole exchange was Trish's way of dealing with the nervousness of the situation. They had no choice to sit there and wait until the Head Witches had come to a decision as to how they would rule on the matter of Greg staying in their house.

If they decided against it, Parvati hoped that their order would be to just release him to his old life, and nothing more sinister.

~~~

In the Head Witches' chambers, the five of the Head Witches--now all sitting at a round table--had entered into a heated debate over this Greg Turner that Heidi had mentioned. Humans living with witches was nothing new--despite the risks that it may entail for both parties--but the condition that he was living in was something that they had never been faced with before.

"It's barbaric!" Emerald exclaimed. "It's bad enough that they have a human living with them, but to have him the size of a bug!? That is unacceptable!!"

"I have to agree," Amber said. "If he is that small, what if he were to get crushed? Accidents can happen, and not even us Head Witches with all our power can reverse death."

"Oh, come on, you two," Scarlet chimed. "We've been through this many upon many times before. Why do you two always throw such a fit over these things?"

"You don't get it," Amber said. "We witches are a secret organization. Or, we should be. It would be ideal if no human knew of our existence. We've become too lenient! It's bad enough that their families know about them, and they could easily spread word!"

"Who would believe it, though?" Scarlet said. "Most humans already believe that we don't exist."

"But for the humans that DO find out," Emerald said, "what would stop them from using the witch for their own personal gain as we mentioned earlier? Remember the case with Irene Bradshaw? That foolish girl and her human lover were planning to overthrow the Human Realm, and I bet that it was the human who concocted that scheme!"

"Quit judging all humans with the same brush, Head Witch Emerald. There are good humans who would never think to do that, just like there are evil witches who wish nothing more than to do harm to the Human Realm. ...And this world."

"It's in humanity's very nature to thirst for power! Look at all of their wars, all of their senseless bloodshed! Pitiful creatures, repeating the same mistakes that their ancestors did before them! They never learn!"

Scarlet let out a frustrated sigh. "Head Witch Emerald, remember you too were once human. All of us were. In addition, we witches have had our share of wars..."

The room was silent for several seconds. The memories of many, many years past hung over them, and dampered the mood in the room slightly.

"That was eons ago," Amber said.

"Even if Head Witch Emerald raises some good points," Taupe started, "I fail to see how that applies here. This Greg Turner is only a mere few inches tall. How can he gain any more of what little power he has? I doubt Parvati would allow such a thing to happen."

"I agree," Scarlet said. "I can sense what kind of person Parvati is. She is not the kind who would wish ill upon the innocent. I wouldn't call her a pure child, but she is a good one."

"Then what about Trish?" Emerald asked.

"Greg is under the ownership of Parvati. There isn't much Trish can do to him if he were to want more power."

"That may be for the best," Taupe said. "I sensed her persona as I did Parvati's, as well. She is not a bad person, but... Her energies within are a bit more chaotic, instead of the more calming flow of Parvati's energy. I'm sure you all felt the same."

"In addition," Amber added, "Trish did apparently almost expose us to one of her human companions."

"We could bring Greg here to evaluate him ourselves," Scarlet suggested. "Then we can see just what kind of person this man is."

"Head Witch Scarlet, you know that humans are now allowed in our realm," Emerald scolded. "They don't belong here."

"Yes, we know. You were the one who fought vehemently for that change."

Taupe folded her arms. "At this rate, all we can do is open a window into the Human Realm, and examine him from here."

Emerald, Taupe, Amber, and Scarlet all looked toward Indigo, who had been silent during the entire time in the chambers. Once all eyes were set upon her, she knew what they were expecting from her. She sighed, and closed her eyes.

"I have to find him first," Indigo said. "...What was the address of their household..."

A white aura started to emanate from Indigo's body. The other Head Witches watched as Indigo worked to pinpoint the location of Parvati's and Trish's house, as well as the tiny inhabitant inside. Minutes passed as the aura became more vivid and grew in size.

Suddenly, Indigo's eyes shot open--her eyes also glowing white--before she pointed her right index finger at the center of the table. From the tip of her finger shot a bolt of white magic, which stopped at the center and took on a more spherical form. Inside of the sphere was a white fog, which gradually cleared to reveal an image of a figure within the fog. As the mist dissipated, the Head Witches could finally see the young man inside of the sphere. He had a medium-athletic build, had African features, and his black hair was styled in dreadlocks. Sure enough, his surroundings were monstrously large compared to him.

There was no mistake; this was Greg Turner.

"He's not bad-looking at all," Scarlet said. "I almost want to take him and give him to my granddaughter."

"Stop that nonsense." Emerald turned to face Taupe. "Well, what do you make of him?"

"...I know I was the one who suggested it, but it's not easy to examine someone's persona when they are not physically in front of me. But I will try..." Taupe began to closely examine the young man that stood through their window into the other world.

Emerald, Scarlet, and Amber waited patiently while Taupe did her best to analyze Parvati's "pet"; a process that took several minutes. No doubt because of the spatial distortion between the two worlds that was perhaps interfering with her ability to accurately analyze the young man.

Eventually, Taupe let out a loud breath. "I've read as much of him as I could."

There was a pause in the room as Taupe caught her breath.

"Well...?" Emerald seemed impatient.

"Don't rush me," Taupe scolded. "Greg... What I could make out was a mix of feelings. Order and chaos were intermingling within. I'm pretty sure that it is the same with all humans--and perhaps us as well. However, I sensed something else within him. Something that I could not pinpoint. Yet, it felt so familiar..."

The other Head Witches looked at one another.

"What do you think it was?" Amber asked.

"I don't know," Taupe answered. "I read of him the best I could, given the circumstances."

The sphere in the center of the table then shrunk down until it disappeared from existence. Indigo's glowing eyes had returned to their normal state of greyish-blue irises.

"Head Witches," Indigo called. "Given what we know of the three, how would you rule on this?"

The others looked around at each other, no doubt waiting for someone to take the initiative and speak their opinion on the matter.

Scarlet decided to be that first person. "I don't see a problem. As long as Parvati keeps control of the situation, I don't see anything bad coming of this."

"...I have to agree," Taupe said. "Parvati's balance is skewed a bit in order's favor. I don't see her as the type who would cause trouble. Trish is more questionable, but she could keep watch over both Greg and Trish. I'm sure she has been doing a fine job in that thus far."

Amber let out a loud groan. "Fine. I guess you two are right. I still have doubts, though."

Scarlet, Taupe, Indigo, and Amber looked towards Emerald. She folded her arms, and turned her head to the side.

"I'm not convinced," she said.

The other Head Witches let out a simultaneous sigh. Once again, they would have to convince their stubborn peer to see things their way, that there was not any significant risk in allowing Greg's time with the witches to continued.

~~~

Parvati, Trish, and Heidi sat in the hall outside of the Head Witches' hearing room. It seemed as if hours had passed without a word from within, but Heidi assured them that only two hours had gone by since the Head Witches had gone to meet within their chambers.

"Man... This is boring." Trish complained. "I should've brought my PSP if I knew it was gonna take this long. ...Hey, wait! I can just warp it here, can't I-"

"No." Heidi was quick to answer. "Your magic isn't strong enough to cross spatial dimensions."

"Aw, man..." Trish sighed.

The hall was silent for several more minutes. Not a word from any of the women as they awaited word from inside of those doors.

"Say, Heidi?" Trish called.

"What?" Heidi answered.

"You're a Head Witch with lots of power, right?"

"Yeah."

"You think you could bring my PSP here for me?"

Heidi stared at Trish for a few seconds, before looking away. "No."

"Oh, come on! Please!?" Trish begged. "I'm dying of boredom over here!!"

"Heidi, I don't ask for much," Parvati said, "but I don't see why she can't have her game. Maybe it'll help her relax a little."

Trish was ecstatic to hear Parvati's support. "Exactly! Thanks, Par!" She leaned over and hugged her, which garnered a warm smile from Parvati.

Watching this display of friendship, Heidi could not help but mellow out. "Well, for you, Parvati, I'll do it. Just be glad that your friend here is much more mature than you are."

Trish twitched. "O... Okay...?" Then, Trish suddenly looked around, slightly worried. "Oh wait, those old hags aren't gonna be mad if they catch us, right?"

"As long as we're still out here, they don't care what we do," Heidi replied. "...And please don't call them that. Especially not here." Heidi closed her eyes. "First, I need to open a 'window', if you will, into your room."

"Why?" Trish asked.

"To see what your game looks like," Heidi answered. "I can't bring it here without a visual in my mind."

"...You never noticed me playing it before?" Trish was somewhat annoyed.

"Not really, no. Now, hold on for a second..."

A white aura started to emanate around Heidi's body, and then--between the three women--a luminous sphere started to form right in the center of the hall. Within the sphere was a thick, white fog that obscured anything that might have been contained within. Heidi opened her eyes, revealing them to be glowing bright white. Both Parvati and Trish were surprised to see her in this state.

"Wow..." Parvati marveled. "Heidi, you look..."

"This spell is too flashy for its own good," Heidi said. "I don't know why its creator designed it like that."

"Maybe they wanted to show off for humans," Trish said. "It does look like we're looking into a crystal ball."

The fog inside of the sphere began to fade away. Both Parvati and Trish watched its contents closely, to discern any shape that would soon appear inside. Before long, the familiar image of Trish's messy bedroom started to form. The visual became clearer and clearer until it was as if they were indeed looking through a window.

Trish noticed her game sitting on her bed right away. "There it is, on my bed," Trish said as she pointed towards the spot.

"Okay, then." Heidi rose her right index finger upward, and then its tip began to sparkle with magic.

Just then, the large doors opened, surprising all three witches out of the display. The magical window shattered into glass-like particles before fading away into magical dust. Standing in the doorway were the two grey-skinned dolls that had been guarding the doors from the inside, and who were guarding them when they had first arrive.

"The Head Witches will see you now," the one on the right said.

"Do not keep them waiting," the left one added.

The dolls watched the witches expectantly as Parvati and Trish looked at each other, then at Heidi, who had returned to her normal state. She looked at the two, and then stood up.

"You heard them," she said. "It's time to hear what they have to say."

Heidi started to walk towards the opened set of doors, as Parvati and then Trish stood and followed in after her. Once all three witches were inside, the dolls closed the doors behind them. Parvati looked towards the five Head Witches, all seated at the long desk and their eyes on the witches; the exception being Emerald, whose arms were folded and her face twisted into an angry expression. Parvati could only wonder what had gone on in their chambers during those two hours.

"I'm sorry we took so long," Indigo said. "But we have to come to an unanimous decision in these hearings."

Scarlet and Amber both looked in Emerald's direction. She closed her eyes, and let out an audible sigh.

"Before we get to that, there is one other issue," Indigo continued. "About his current state--Greg, I mean--there were concerns that he may get crushed in some way or another. I know you two have been with him for quite some time now, and you have taken the necessary precautions, but I want to know the nature of the spell or spells that you cast on him."

"Oh," Parvati started, "I did consider that the night we met, and after he confessed his deepest fantasies. In addition to shrinking him, I also altered his body's structure so that it could withstand many times its weight. He won't suffer any injuries from us stepping on him, even with shoes on."

"...I see," Indigo responded. "What is the limit of how much weight his body can sustain?"

Parvati was dumbstruck. "I beg your pardon?"

"...You don't know, do you? Then I will tell you this: you may think that he is completely impervious to death by crushing, but you are wrong. Depending on what his limit actually is, if that is reached and exceeded, he will die. Do you understand?"

Parvati was surprised to hear this revelation. Truth be told, she did not consider that the spell she had cast on Greg needed a limit; she assumed that no matter how much weight was applied to his body, he would come out mostly unscathed. At that point, she wondered what the limit was, how much his body could take before it collapsed under the pressure. She wanted to avoid killing him at all costs, especially if it was accidental.

"I understand," Parvati answered. "I'll be more careful from now on."

Indigo nodded. "Good. ...And with that, I guess you can already tell what our verdict is."

Indigo looked around at her peers. Amber, Scarlet, and Taupe all nodded at her, while Emerald merely looked away and grunted.

"We have decided," Indigo started, "that we see no serious threat in allowing Greg Turner to remain with you two. And as for this entire assessment, we have decided to give you two--Parvati Singh and Trish Hubbard--a pass."

Parvati and Trish were thrilled to hear the Head Witches' decision; they could barely contain their joy. Even Heidi was smiling at this news. Seeing this also warmed the moods of the Head Witches, with the exception of Emerald who just closed her eyes.

"Just keep close watch over Greg, Parvati," Indigo said. "And Trish as well."

"I will," Parvati agreed. "Thank you, Head Witch Indigo, and all of you!"

"Yeah, thanks!" Trish chimed in. "You gals are alright!"

Indigo, Scarlet, and Amber chuckled in good spirits.

"Well, if there is no other concerns," Indigo said, "this hearing is adjourned. You all are free to go home now. Including you, Ms. Light. You've earned your vacation."

"Thank you, Head Witch Indigo," Heidi said.

Parvati and Trish were somewhat surprised to hear that Heidi's time with them was her last assignment before being allowed a break.

The Head Witches stood from their seats and began to exit the room, this time through a door on the right side of the room. Once the door closed, Parvati and Trish could have sworn that they heard bickering from the other side of the door, but whatever words that were being said were hard to discern; even more, the noise became more and more quiet until they could not hear anything at all, no doubt because the Head Witched had walked too far away.

Having exited the building that they had been inside for so long, the three witches walked onto the marble plaza, still bustling with activity from its many inhabitants.

"I'm so glad that's over with!" Trish proudly exclaimed. "And if we hurry, we can make it home in time for our night out, Par!"

"Oh, right." Parvati had just remembered the plans that she had made with Trish and her friend Cynthia. "With all of this, I completely forgot about them."

"Sounds like you two have plans," Heidi said. "That's good. You should unwind a little after this."

"Heidi..." Parvati said. "Thank you for all you've done. I'm glad to have had you as our observer."

Heidi blushed a little. "You're welcome. I was a bit relieved to find out that it was you two that I would be watching over when they gave me the assignment. But like I said before, under the circumstances, there wouldn't have been a huge problem."

"What are you going to do now?" Trish asked.

Heidi looked off towards the strange sky. "...That's a good question. I'm probably going to meet with a few people, but after that, I don't really have any plans. ...I never thought how empty my life would be without my work."

Heidi then looked back towards Parvati and Trish. "Hey, if you don't mind, I have a request. Feel free to turn it down if you want."

Parvati became curious. "What's on your mind?"

"This might be spur-the-moment, but..."

~~~

Greg sat on his couch, watching an action movie with his DVD player. Having returned from a walk around the house, he found himself without much to do except watching movies to pass the time.

The witches had been gone for a while, and he had no idea when they would return. He wondered how the hearing was going, whether or not the Head Witches would allow him to remain within the much larger household. Heidi had said before that under the circumstances in which he was introduced into this life, the Head Witches would recognize him as belonging to Parvati, but he could not help but shake those small doubts at the back of his head.

All he could do was sit and wait until he heard of the results.

Suddenly, he heard the door in the large bedroom outside of his house open and then shut, followed by footsteps accompanied by the slapping sound of flip-flops striking against the heel and floor.

Parvati had returned.

Greg immediately grabbed the remote from the coffee table, and pressed the stop button to end the movie he was watching. Then, he rushed out of the living room and then the house, before he headed through the underside of Parvati's bed, until he reached the open floor.

Sure enough, Parvati was there, laying on her bed, with her feet hanging from the side. Greg took extra notice of her red flip-flops dangling from each foot.

"You're back!" Greg shouted, so that she could hear him.

Parvati sat up, and then looked down towards the floor, spotting him immediately. She smiled and slid slightly forward, bringing her feet flat to the floor.

"There you are, my pet," she said. "How are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Greg replied. "How did it go?"

"I'm happy to say that it went well. You're allowed to stay here, just as long as you do as I say."

"Well, I have no problem with that, my Goddess." Greg started to approach her left foot, but before he could reach it, he stopped himself. "Wait... Am I still grounded?"

With only a smile, Parvati stood up from her bed. Then, she started to walk in Greg's direction. It did not take long at all for her to reach him, and for him to be completely engulfed by the shadow of her sandal-clad foot. Before Greg had any time to think about it, that same foot stepped down--knocking him off of his feet--and then pressed him against the floor. With his head to the side, he felt Parvati press more weight onto his comparably small body.

"Does this answer your question?" He heard Parvati ask high above him.

"Y-Yeah!!" Greg yelled.

"...Oh, I can barely hear you like this."

With that, the weight lifted as Parvati removed her foot from his body. Greg sat up on the floor, and marveled at the sight of the giant beautiful woman standing high over him.

"But I'm surprised you didn't try to run," Parvati said. "I must have been to fast for you." She giggled.

"Yeah, I didn't even have time to think about what to do," Greg replied. "...Oh! Where's Heidi?"

"She's back in the Aurora Realm."

"Good." Greg stood to his feet, and walked towards Parvati's right foot. Once there, he laid himself upon it and began to kiss it.

Parvati giggled. "I'm going out with Trish and Cynthia later today, so until then, I'll be happy to play with you."

Greg looked upward, though he could barely see her face from where he was. "Awesome!" he said excitedly. "I'm at your command, my Goddess."

~~~

Several hours had passed. Greg and Parvati enjoyed each other's company and roleplay, until Parvati indeed left to join Trish and Cynthia for a night out. It was past midnight, and they still had not returned. They must have been having a lot of fun, Greg thought to himself as he laid in his bed, inside of his dark bedroom. He somewhat missed going out in the city with his friends; clubs, malls, even school offered his life many thrills before meeting Parvati.

However, the trade-off was well worth it, to fulfill his deepest fantasies, and now that the Head Witches had ruled in Parvati and Trish's favor, he would be spending even more time with them, perhaps for a long time to come.

Greg closed his eyes, and began to doze off.

Several minutes later, Greg felt a presence standing over him.

He opened his eyes, and was met with the image of a feminine face with green eyes and blond hair. The image of none other than Heidi.

"Oh my-" Greg was so shocked that he nearly fell out of his bed. "What are you doing here!? I thought you were gone!!"

"I was, but I came back," Heidi answered.

Greg became annoyed. "Why?"

"I'm on vacation now."

"Okay, and?"

"It has been a long time since I've lived in the Human Realm, so I'll be staying here until my vacation ends."

Greg was stunned to hear this. "What!? Does Parvati know?! Or are you gonna force her!?"

"Oh, she knows. I got her permission."

Greg sighed. "Dammit, and I thought you would be gone."

"Don't worry," Heidi said. "I'm not here as a General Witch, though if I see anything fishy I will step in. I'll just be staying here as another roommate in this harem that you seem to be amassing, so you don't have to hold back when you're making love to Parvati's feet." She smiled teasingly.

"Grr..." Greg gritted his teeth.

Heidi started to walk towards the bedroom's doorway. "Oh, and I'll be staying in the same room as before. I've gotten used to it, and have already made my own personal touches to it. Now... Have a good night, Greg."

With that, she stepped out of the room, and closed the door behind her.

Greg sighed again, and laid back onto his bed. "Just great..."

Quite the turn of events indeed. It seemed that he would not be rid of Heidi just yet. He was annoyed that he had to share his house with her for an unknown amount of time; he should have asked how long her vacation was. He would do that tomorrow, he figured.

As he laid in his bed and began to doze off again, he had a passing thought: whether or not Heidi's sole were rough from her walking around barefoot everywhere, or if they were as soft as they looked when she had showed her her surprisingly clean sole earlier that day.

He shook that thought out of his head as he drifted off into his sleep.

Greg awoke, but laid on his bed for several minutes. He had had the same dream again, with the same voice calling out to him. Except it seemed to have become a little clearer. Very peculiar; was it a trick being played on him by one of the Witches?

In any case, there was no use of him laying there and trying to figure out the meaning behind it. He looked to his side, at his digital alarm clock, and saw that it was 8:21 in the morning. He threw his bedsheet off of his body and stepped onto the floor of his room.

Having showered and thrown on some simple clothing, Greg walked across the hallway to the room on the other side--Heidi's room. He peeked inside and found it empty. In fact, after a quick search around the house, he found that he was left alone inside of the dollhouse.

"What a relief," Greg said to himself. "Glad I don't have to deal with her right now."

He walked into the kitchen and began to microwave a dozen frozen pizza rolls, after which he consumed each one. No doubt that--after the stunt with his hamburger the day before--if Heidi had seen this, she would have "vegefied" his breakfast. After devouring his breakfast, he opened his refrigerator and pulled out a large bottle of ginger ale, twisted off the cap, and began to drink directly from it. Seconds later, he placed it back into the refrigerator and closed it.

He quickly looked around. There was no sign of Heidi anywhere. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"She probably would have had a heart attack if she had seen me," he half-jokingly remarked.

With his hunger satiated, he walked out of his illuminated house and into the darkness that engulfed the underside of Parvati's bed. Beforelong, he made his way outside to the open floor of Parvati's bedroom, illuminated by the sunlight shining in through the windows.

He looked around as he walked further away from the bed. There was no sign of life in the room; Parvati was not on her bed or at her desk, and both doors--one to her bathroom and the other to the hallway--were open. However, from the hallway he heard voices. Listening closely, he could easily tell that they belonged to Parvati and Trish. However, as he continued to listen to them, it almost sounded as if they were arguing with each other.

More than likely it did not concern him, but his curiosity once again got the best of him. He quickly headed towards the doorway and then made his way across the hallway. As he drew closer to Trish's room--its door nearly completely open--he could hear what the two Witches were arguing about: the state of Trish's room.

"...Yes, I know it's your room," Parvati said, "but I've been telling you for months to at least pick up the clothes around here, and you haven't even done that!"

"I told you I can find what I want to wear easier this way!" Trish responded.

"That's complete nonsense! They get dirty from being on the floor all day, every day. It's not good hygiene to wear them like that."

"I wash them before I wear them."

"If you would just pick them up and put them away, you wouldn't have to waste time doing that."

"I don't waste time! Remember, I have magic!"

Greg heard a sigh from Parvati. "And I'm amazed that you never even used your magic to clean this place up."

"Give me a break, Par!" Trish sounded agitated. "I have more important things to worry about than how my room looks! Besides, it's not like anyone except you, Heidi, and the Runt will ever see it!"

"What about Cynthia?"

"You know she's not allowed in here."

"Not until you tell her who you really are. Assuming things are going to get serious between you two, do you intend to tell her that you're a Witch?"

"Of course! I mean- We're really into each other, so why wouldn't I tell her?"

"All the more reason to keep your room tidy."

At this point, Greg had stepped into the room. Parvati was standing a few feet from Trish's bed, on which Trish was laying upon. As was stated, Trish's room was as messy as it had always been, perhaps slightly moreso.

"Okay," Parvati said. "I hate to sound like your mother, but here's what's going to happen. I want you to clean this room. Today. Right now."

The look on Trish's face changed to a mix of both shock and annoyance. "What!?"

"Oh, and no magic, either. You have to clean it the old-fashioned way."

"You're killing me, Par," Trish said with little enthusiasm.

"You have to learn that you can't use your magic for everything." Parvati turned towards the bedroom doorway, and noticed Greg walking inside. "Oh, and what luck! He can help you."

Trish also looked in Greg's direction. "What can he do?"

"Clean up under your bed, for one," Parvati replied.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Greg exclaimed. "How did I get recruited for this? What if I don't want to help her?"

"Well, you COULD not help Trish... ...But then you won't be able to-"

Greg interrupted Parvati before she could finish her sentence. "Stop. I know... You won't let me play with your feet."

Parvati smiled. "You're finally learning."

Greg grunted. He hated how easily he could be manipulated by Parvati and his love of feet in general. However, considering the alternative of going for another period of time without access to Parvati's body, he figured that assisting in the cleaning of Trish's room was a relatively small price to pay.

"She'll be doing most of the work, anyway," Greg mumbled to himself.

"What did you say?" Parvati asked.

"Nothing," Greg replied. "I guess I'll help her."

"Wonderful!" Parvati said in a cheerful tone. "This way, Trish will get her room spick-and-span in no time!"

"He's not going to be of that much help, Par," Trish commented.

Parvati started to walk towards the bedroom door. "Well, I'll just leave so you two can get started." She walked directly towards Greg--he was especially eyeing her feet enamored in her red flip-flops. However, she deliberately stepped over him; after what she had said to the two of them, he knew that as a fact.

At the doorway, she turned around and flashed them a smile. "I'm expecting big things from you two. Have fun." And thus, she walked out of the room, closing the door as she left into the hallway.

Greg turned towards Trish, who sighed heavily as she rose from her bed. "Man..." she said. "I love her like a sister, but Par can be pretty annoying sometimes."

"All you have to do is pick up your clothes, right?" Greg asked.

"Knowing her, she probably wants me to sweep and mop in here AND in the bathroom and stuff."

Trish took a few steps to her left, where several articles of clothing laid upon the floor. She looked back toward Greg.

"You can sweep and mop under my bed," she said. "I don't keep anything under there anymore, so it should be easy for you."

She aimed her index finger towards the floor near the bed, after which a bolt of magic shot from her finger and impacted the spot at a high velocity. As the magic faded, Greg could see a broom, dustpan, mop, and bucket set out where the magic had been, as well as an empty garbage bag.

"Get busy," Trish ordered, before she herself started to gather up her clothing from the floor.

"Riiight..." Greg made his way towards the utensils that Trish had conjured up, as she continued to pick up her clothes all over the room. "How did I get myself into this?" Greg mumbled to himself. Of course, he knew the answer to his own question. Curiosity always kills the cat.

As he neared the tools, and as Trish walked nearby with bunches of clothing in hand, Greg soon took notice to a large shadow surrounding him. He looked upward, and saw the clothes that Trish had been carrying descending upon him. Before he could react he was completely buried underneath her clothing.

"Bull's-eye!" he heard Trish exclaim through the clothes.

"Not cool!" Greg yelled, though he was unsure if she could hear him. He then began to claw himself out from the pile, before the entire mass was lifted from his body.

He looked up and saw Trish carrying the clothes to a hamper on the other side of the room near the bathroom door. As she dumped her clothing inside, Greg stood up and eyed the much smaller mop and broom set that laid upon the floor a few feet away.

"...Let's get busy, then," Greg said to himself as he took hold of the broom and dustpan, and made his way underneath Trish's bed.

~~~

From the kitchen, Parvati stepped outside into the yard. The wind blew softly through her hair as she looked upward and saw the large white clouds that lined the blue sky.

She looked to her left, and saw Heidi sitting on the grass, with her legs crossed; it looked as if she was meditating or at least deep in thought. Of course, considering that Heidi had been with them for several days now, this was not anything out of the ordinary.

As if she sensed her presence, Heidi came out of whatever trance she was in and turned towards Parvati.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you," Parvati apologized.

"No, you didn't interrupt anything," Heidi replied. "I was just listening to the wind."

"I see..."

Parvati stepped closer as Heidi looked towards the sky herself.

"It's going to rain today," Heidi said.

"Yeah," Parvati said as she reached her. "They said on the weather report."

"Many years ago, people did not have television or meteorologists to tell them what the weather was going to be like. They could tell just by looking at the sky." Heidi sighed. "I miss those days."

"Really? What was it like back then?"

Heidi turned back towards Parvati. "It was a simpler time," she answered. "People worked hard and helped each other. That's one thing the humans back then had over today's humans. ...But that's all I'll say on that subject. ...On another note, I heard you and Trish going at it earlier."

"You did?" Parvati was somewhat surprised. "...Yeah, I was trying to get her to clean up her room. She's finally doing it after all this time, and I got Greg to help her."

"That's good to hear," Heidi said. "It was embarrassing to see her room in such a state."

Parvati chuckled. "Try having lived with her for over two years!"

"Yes, I can only imagine." Heidi looked away for a few seconds, before turning back. "Sorry to change the subject, but I want to ask you a few things."

"About what?" Parvati asked.

"Let's start with Greg." Heidi motioned for Parvati to sit down on the grass beside her, which Parvati did so.

"What about Greg? I told you everything about him."

"Yes, I know," Heidi said. "The spell you cast before you shrunk him, while he was asleep. But how long do you intend to keep him around?"

"Well, he's a pretty nice guy, and he opened a side of me that I would have never known existed had he had not come along."

"Your dominant side," Heidi added.

Parvati nodded. "I want to keep him with me for as long as I am able. Of course, if he ever wants to go back to his old life for some reason, I'd be glad to grant his wish. Even if he'll forget about me and Trish. Oh, and you too."

"I doubt he'll be wanting to go back anytime soon. He's already bugged over thinking that there'll be a void in his memories between the time he met you at that bar and whenever he's sent back."

"I'm tempted to tell him about the spell, but part of me is hesitant. I fear that once I do, he'll have no more worries about ending his experience here himself. But if it's what he wants, then I'd have no choice but to comply." Parvati let out a sigh. "After all, what are friends for?"

"Parvati," Heidi called. "Are you in love with Greg?"

This question took Parvati by surprise. She had never thought about him in that way. "I can't say," she answered. "I think we're more 'Friends with Benefits' than anything right now. That's why I let him play around with Trish sometimes."

"I see... That's interesting to hear." Heidi smiled slightly. "You lose one friend, and you gain another."

Parvati became somewhat irked. "You're talking about Lily, aren't you? Greg even at his current size is worth more than three of her."

"Yes, your anger towards her is well-known," Heidi said. "But don't you think you're taking your hatred for her too far. She did steal your last boyfriend from you, yes, but you two have been friends for a long time before that. Plus, according to Trish, she did not even know you two were seeing each other. I just see it as a waste to let one incident ruin a perfectly good friendship."

"...It wasn't just that," Parvati said. "Ever since right before our powers awakened, we have been drifting apart."

"Oh?"

"When we went to college, we fell into different crowds," Parvati began. "You know that she was the 'party girl' between her, me, and Trish, right? So obviously, she got drunk on the college experience; she went to every party she could and flirted with many guys on campus, but she did manage to make all of her classes; I don't know how well she did, though. Meanwhile, I shyed away from those things and focused mostly on my studies. I made a few friends there, joined an Indian American organization, and found time for a part time job at a textile company to help pay for my classes. Before long, Lily and I barely hung out with each other, and stopped calling each other altogether, or I'd call her but she'd say that she was 'busy'."

"When did your powers awaken?" Heidi asked.

"During the second semester of my sophomore year," Parvati answered. "So did Lily's. As expected, things became very awkward when we came across each other that one day..."

~~~

I was walking to the Liberal Arts building on campus, book in hand, on my way to my American history class. ...You know us Witches can see the auras that we give off? Well, I saw such an aura emanating from someone sitting on a bench near the campus' fountain.

As I looked closer, I saw that it was Lily herself, and I couldn't have been more surprised. She was busy talking on her cell phone, when she spotted me several feet away. Her mouth dropped in awe, and I could tell that her phone nearly fell from her hand.

I did have a class to get to, but I decided to take a few minutes to talk to her, and so I approached her.

"Parv!!" Lily excitedly greeted. "It's been a while since we talked to each other!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. But you seem to always be busy with... well, everything."

"You know it! I've been having loads of fun! Guys all over are calling me all the time, wanting me to hang out with them!"

I laughed. "You always were the most popular of the three of us."

"But enough about me! When did you become a Witch?"

"Around two weeks ago," I answered.

"Oh wow! Really? So did I!" Lily sounded excited. "Weird how we got our powers at the same time. But this will make college life much more fun!"

"Lily..." My mood became serious. "You're not going to show off your powers, are you? You don't know how people are going to react to that. We're supposed to be secret, remember?"

"I know, I know... Man, you always were a killjoy." She sounded annoyed with me. I knew that she wasn't going to listen to me.

There was then an awkward silence between us that lasted a few seconds. I decided to cut this meeting short.

"I have a class to get to," I said, becoming apprehensive. "It was nice talking to you again."

"Same here, Parv!" Lily said. "Maybe one day we can get together and do something."

"Yeah, that would be nice," I said, knowing full well that that would never come to pass, not with the way things were at that point. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Mm-hmm!!" Lily nodded and smiled, before she went back to talking with whoever it was on the other side of her cell phone.

I walked away from the fountain plaza and continued my walk towards the Liberal Arts building. All the while, I thought about how close we had been at one point. It was depressing, yes, but I couldn't let it get me down. She made her own choices, and she was headstrong with her decisions on how to live her live. I was in no position to fight it, so I went on and focused on my own life.

After that, we barely spoke at all. We just waved and said "Hi" to each other whenever we passed each other on campus. Again, it was sad how things got to that point between us.

The next--and last--time we actually were together was for Trish's graduation later that year. But even then things were awkward between us; I think even Trish sensed it, which pains me to say. It was her big day, and I didn't want my feelings towards Lily to interfere with Trish's big day. Thankfully, nothing boiled over, and we were able to celebrate Trish's graduation without a hitch.

Trish still wanted to be friends with her, though, and I wasn't going to let my feelings ruin the friendship those two had. But as far as me and Lily was concerned, our friendship was all but done.

~~~

"It's interesting that you said that you told her not to show off her powers," Heidi said after Parvati finished telling her story, "when you pretty much did the same thing with Greg."

"When he told me about his deepest fantasy, about wanting to be shrunken and at the mercy of a bigger woman, I figured that I could take the chance to grant his wish," Parvati explained. "Which is also why I cast the other spell in the event that he has to leave. That way he can go back to living his old life without a worry."

"You could have just let it go as a hopeless dream," Heidi stated.

"I know... But when I saw how much he was into me, as well as him seeming like a nice guy, I wanted to give him a chance to live out his fantasy."

"I see... It's your decision, and you are responsible for any consequences that may arise. Including Head Witch Indigo's warning. If he happens to die in some manner, your other spell will also be terminated."

"I know. I'm taking full responsibility for him and what ultimately becomes of him." Parvati looked downward at the green grass below. "...I just wish there was a way for him to keep his memories of his time here. At least he'd have those if and when he decides to leave."

"Sorry," Heidi said. "It's a preventative measure to make sure that us Witches remain a secret. Only close family and other Witches are supposed to know."

"I don't think Greg would go around and telling everyone about our existence," Parvati said, looking back at Heidi.

"The Council can't take that risk. Sorry."

Parvati sighed. "Maybe one day we Witches won't have to hide our identities from the world. It would be a huge relief."

"Unlikely," Heidi said. "Human nature won't allow that."

"Are you sure about that?" Parvati asked.

"I have lived for a long time. I have seen both the good and bad side of humans. ...As of right now, the bad is outweighing the good. ...Not that Witches are completely innocent, either. Power corrupts, you know."

"True..." Parvati said. Even so, Parvati wanted to believe that there would come a time where humans and Witches could live with one another without any conflict or uprisings. Though she admitted that such a day would be far off in the future, long after she would be able to see it come to fruition.

Until then, all she could do was live for herself. And for the new role she had taken for Greg.

~~~

Greg stood outside of Trish's bed, examining his work. He had just finished the grueling task of sweeping and mopping under the bed. At his size, it was akin to doing the same to an entire school auditorium. His arms were tired beyond belief.

He looked and saw that Trish was walking out from inside her bathroom. She had just finished sweeping and mopping herself; in her case she had done her bedroom as well as her bathroom. The dozens of clothing that had been on the floor before were all packed inside of the hamper near the bathroom door; Greg was amazed that all of it could fit inside.

"I never want to do that again," Trish said as she walked into the bedroom. "I'm going to have to take my clothes to the laundromat later, too."

"Why don't you use your magic?" Greg asked.

"Par doesn't want me to, remember?" Trish answered. "Man, I wish we had our own washer and dryer here. Maybe I'll ask if she could at least whip those up."

"Well, in the meantime," Greg said, "are we done here?"

Trish looked at him, then glanced around the room. "The bed's made up, I've dusted my desk over there, the room's swept, and I just mopped the bathroom too. I'm not going to mop in here, because I don't think it needs it. I think the main thing Parvati was fussing at me about were the clothes, and those are in there." She nudged her head towards where the hamper was. "...I think we're done finally."

Greg let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you... Now I can get out of here."

Leaving the utensils that he had used behind, Greg turned and began to walk towards the currently closed door that led to the hallway; he trusted that Trish would let him out of the room.

However, before he could come anywhere near the door, Trish's foot--clad in a white sock, stepped down right in his path.

"Wait a minute, Runt," she said, now standing over him. "Why don't you stick around here for a while?"

Bewildered, he watched as she reached down and grabbed him off from the floor, and then carried him to her bed. She then sat down upon it.

"Why?" Greg asked. "I thought you had other plans today. How do I factor in with them?"

"You don't," Trish answered, as she crossed her right leg over her left one. "But I'm not going anywhere for like a few hours, so I can afford to make your life happy in the meantime."

Greg watched her, with her free hand, pull the sock completely from of her right foot. Not able to help himself, he gazed at her now bare foot, its unpolished toes wiggling. Though Greg had long since determined that her feet were average--not bad, but not great, either. Especially when compared to Parvati's.

He found himself being lifted into the air again, before he was suspended over the mouth of her sock. He looked downward at the abyss below; he could smell the odor that her feet had left inside of the sock. He knew what Trish was thinking of doing with him; she had done so on more than a few occasions in the past. Luckily for him, her foot odor was not as pungent as it was months ago.

"Now, you wait in there while I go get Par," Trish said.

Greg laughed. "Well, it's not like you're giving me much of a choice-"

His words were cut short as Trish released her grip of him, letting him plummet into the sock. He impacted the soft fabric, and his nostrils were immediately overtaken by the odor that Trish's feet had left inside.

He felt the sock being moved, and then second later saw Trish's foot sliding into the sock from its mouth. He did not try to fight it; he merely let it press him against the fabric and her sole. Then, after the sock was completely back on her foot, he felt himself being moved again, before being pressed against a hard surface; the floor, most likely.

He felt the weight on her foot shift more heavily upon his body, the ball of her foot squarely on his head, before it completely lifted off of him. However, just as quickly, it dropped all on him at once, and released again. Trish was walking, no doubt to find Parvati and tell her that her task had been finished.

Greg could do nothing--not even bask in some of the credit of helping her to clean her room--but enjoy the ride that she was taking him on.

~~~

"Wow, Trish, I'm impressed," Parvati said in amazement. "It's been a long time since your room has been clean like this."

After informing them that she had completed the task that Parvati had handed her, both Parvati and Heidi had come to see Trish's room. Needless to say, they were both impressed.

"Finished it in no time!" Trish gloated. "You were right, Par. My room looks much better now. I just need to get my clothes down to the laundromat now. ...Unless you say it's okay for me to whip up out own washer-"

"No," Parvati answered quickly.

Trish sighed. "I thought you'd say that. ...But at least you won't be on my case about my room anymore."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Heidi said. "Knowing you, this room will be a wreck again very soon."

Trish winced. "Wanna bet?"

"No. I don't want you to lose what little money you have." Heidi flashed a sly smile.

"That's enough, you two," Parvati said. She looked around on the floor, as if she was looking for something. "...Where's Greg?"

"He's around," Trish answered.

"...Oh. Well, if that means what I think it does, just be careful with him," Parvati said.

"I know. He's been through a lot worse, remember?"

Heidi turned and began to walk out of the room. "I'm going back outside. ...Trish, for what it's worth, the room does look nice. Do try to keep it this way." She smiled again, before exiting the room.

Trish and Parvati watched her leave, and then turned towards each other.

"I'm so glad you've finally straightened this room out, Trish," Parvati said, wearing an appreciative expression of her face. "I almost forgot what this room looked like before you moved in."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad!" Trish laughed. "Was I that much of a slob?"

Parvati laughed as well. "I'm not going to answer that, and you're lucky Heidi isn't in here to hear that."

"Yeah. Snarky ass."

Parvati chuckled again, before turning and walking towards the doorway. "Well, you're free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day. ...Again, I hate to sound like your mother, but you have no idea what it was like to see how messy your room was every day."

"Right..." Trish replied. "Close the door on you way out."

Parvati nodded, and did as requested as she exited the room. Trish looked at the hamper to her right, filled to the brim with her clothes. As she had expected, since Parvati would not used her magic to create their own washer and dryer, she would have to make a trip to the laundromat. What a drag, she thought. She could just use her magic, but Parvati had wanted her to do her chores without relying on the magic.

"I'll do that later," Trish said.

Taking notice of Greg's squirming form under her right foot, she walked to her bed and pulled out her cell phone from her pocket. She pressed the 7 button of the phone, quick-dialing Cynthia. After a few rings, there was a response on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Cynthia said.

"Hey, it's me," Trish answered.

"Oh hi!" Cynthia's tone became excited. "I was wondering when you were gonna call me!"

"Sorry. I had to do a little cleaning here, but I'm done now."

Trish continued to talk with Cynthia, all the while shifting her body's weight to and from her right foot, as well as rubbing it against the floor back and forth and even in circles, evoking more frenzied reactions from the tiny Greg trapped within her sock. She was entertaining two people, she thought to herself.

~~~

A somewhat dizzy Greg walked down the hallway towards Parvati's room. His clothes were moist with sweat, and the odor from Trish's sock had rubbed off on him. Despite that, needless to say, he had enjoyed what Trish had done for him. However, she had released him as she left to take her clothes to the laundromat; she had once again made plans with Cynthia and wanted to get cleaning her clothes out of the way so she could make her date with Cynthia as early as possible.

He stepped into Parvati's room, its door halfway closed, and saw her sitting at her desk and reading something on her laptop.

"...That's crazy," she said, with a bit of disgust in her voice. "If we could use our magic more freely, we could have prevented that."

"What happened?" Greg asked as he approached her.

Parvati turned to face him. "A group of extremists in Dublin took an entire hospital hostage. They've already killed three doctors and two nurses. They're asking for a huge ransom before they let the rest go. ...I don't see why we can't step in whenever something like this happens. Our magic would have stopped this from escalating."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right." Greg then remembered the dream that he had the night before. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Parvati answered.

"I've had this weird dream twice in the past week," Greg started. "It said something about be being a son and it being almost time for something, but most of it is distorted. I can barely make out anything else it said."

"...Okay?"

"It's weird. Do you know anything about it?"

Parvati shook her head. "No. It just sounds like a weird, recurring dream to me."

"Oh... So you're not playing a prank on me or anything?"

Parvati laughed. "Why would I do that?"

"Well, you can be quite the trickster sometimes," Greg replied.

Parvati leaned closer to Greg in her seat. "But this time I'm completely innocent, Greg. In any case, I wouldn't worry about it unless it keeps happening. Maybe your subconsciousness is trying to tell you something."

"Yeah, who knows what that could be?" Greg sighed. "I'll ask Trish when she gets back if she knows anything about it. Anyway, I'm going to go take a shower. I need to get this stink off of me."

"Then what?" Parvati asked.

"I can think of a few things." Greg eyed Parvati's bare feet in front of him. Compared to Trish's they were much more breathtaking, as he had let her know many times before.

Sensing Greg's intentions, Parvati giggled. "In that case, hurry up. Don't keep me waiting." She wiggled her toes.

"Oh, I won't, my Goddess," Greg said, as he then walked towards Parvati's bed, and thus his dollhouse. Indeed, he intended to hurry with his shower and return to Parvati's waiting peds.

While her feet were overtaking his mind, he also could not ignore his recurring dream, and the meaning behind it. What is the voice trying to tell him? What is it almost time for? Why does it call him its son? Was it actually a prank being played on him by Trish, Heidi, or even Parvati, despite her words? Or was it something more? After having spent so much time with the Witches, he knew he couldn't exactly discard any strange occurrences as foulplay. Before, he did not know that Witches even existed, so who knows what else could be out there? He just hoped that--if it wasn't just a trick--it was not anything sinister.

At that point, all he could do was wait and see if he would dream it again. ...Even if it would give him more questions than answers.

Chapter 20: Green

Parvati's room was somewhat dim due to the cloudy sky outside, as Greg stepped out from underneath her bed. He looked around; sure enough, she was nowhere to be seen. He looked down at the letter in his hand, which he had found on his kitchen's table. It stated that Parvati would be leaving for her job much earlier than usual during that week, and therefore she would not have time to entertain him like she always did before leaving for work.

Greg sighed and crumbled up the letter, before tossing it behind him to the floor. Parvati's neat and tidy room was empty and quiet; in fact, it seemed as if the entire house was quiet. He wondered if Trish was still around, but he doubted it; she tended to always leave in the mornings as well for a slew of her own reasons.

He wandered into the hallway, where he saw that Trish's bedroom door was wide open. He was still getting accustomed to seeing it without the mess that had been inside for the past several months. As he drew closer to it, he saw that she was indeed not inside.

"...I guess that leaves only one person," Greg said to himself as he approached the kitchen. "...I guess it's not the first time I've been left here with Heidi, but..."

He heard the sounds of the television from the living room as he walked through the kitchen. Either someone had left it on before leaving, or someone was still in there. Judging from the sounds, whoever was inside the room would have been watching a daytime talk show; definitely not something either Trish or Heidi would watch.

Minutes later--having exited the kitchen and walked across the front hallway--he reached the living room, and was somewhat surprised to see Heidi sitting on the couch, albeit looking through papers on the coffee table. He looked towards the TV, and saw supermodel-turned-talk show host Tyra Banks talking about fashion and what people should not wear, while throwing her own eccentricities into her "advice".

"...Why is this woman still on TV?" Greg pondered to himself.

Heidi had taken notice to his arrival. "...You're finally up."

"Meh. I thought you'd be outside. Instead, you're in here watching this crap."

"I was outside earlier," Heidi said. "Besides, it's going to rain in a bit. All day, too." She looked towards the television. "And I'm not really paying attention to this; it's just background noise."

"What are you doing, anyway?" Greg asked.

"I'm looking through these reports," Heidi answered. "...I'm investigating something."

"I thought you were on vacation."

"This is something personal. ...And very important."

"Oh? What about?"

Heidi hesitated for a few seconds before speaking. "...I suppose I can tell you a little bit of it. Remember when you were attacked by Irene last week?"

Greg shuddered. "How can I forget? If it wasn't for you, I'd have been fried."

"Right, and you saw me freak out when she began to charge her last spell..."

"Yeah... A dangerous spell that no witch should know, or something."

Heidi nodded. "I'm looking into seeing how knowledge of that spell leaked out. The fact that a run-of-the-mill Witch such as Irene knew it is highly disturbing to me."

Greg folded his arms. "Hmm... You also never told me what that spell does."

"That's a secret."

"You don't think I should know about a spell that might've killed us both?"

Heidi shook her head. "...Not now, at least."

Greg sighed. "Well, whatever. ...Wait, where'd you get those reports from, anyway?"

"My subordinate delivered them to me," Heidi answered.

"Oh..."

Greg began to walk closer to the coffee table in front of the couch. As he approached, he took notice to Heidi's usual bare feet underneath, both set flat on the carpeted floor. Ever since his dream with her in it, as well as when she has showed him the clean bottom of her right foot, he had found somewhat of a new respect for her feet. He also noticed that ever since her showing him her foot, she had kept her feet clean; he had no idea what sparked this sudden change, however. What he did know was that now he believed that she could possibly rival Parvati when it comes to their feet.

As he was lost in thought, he realized that he was standing right in front of those gigantic peds. He examined both of them rather closely. Indeed, there was not a speck of dirt to be found on or between her toes. No doubt that magic played a part, but he could not argue with results.

"Can I help you?" Heidi--slightly annoyed--asked above him.

"Ever thought about painting your toenails green?" Greg asked. "I think they'd match perfectly with your eyes."

Heidi stared at him for a few seconds. "...Not really. But stop gawking at my feet. You already have Parvati and Trish to appease you."

"But your feet are much better than Trish's," Greg said. "Don't know if you'd beat out Parvati, though. Not until you put on some polish."

"You must be bored. What do you usually do in the mornings?"

"Well, play with Parvati before she goes to work," Greg answered. "Then hang out with Trish, but she's been out doing other things lately..."

"...I see," Heidi said, before standing up. "...Well in that case, I guess I could go figure out something to keep you occupied."

Greg stared up at her in slight disbelief. "Really? You?"

"Don't act so surprised. I'm perfectly capable of having fun."

"But everytime I see you, you're all super serious and stuff..."

"Because for much of the time we've known each other, I was on the job. Now I can relax a little." She looked towards the window behind the couch. "...I needed this vacation too. I've been working almost nonstop for the past 200 years..."

"You look good for someone over 200 years old," Greg commented. "Not a grey hair or wrinkle on you."

"...I don't know if you're complementing me, or being sarcastic. Regardless, wait here while I go set everything up."

With that, Heidi began to exit the living room. Greg watched her leave, and then looked back towards the television, Tyra Bank's image still on the screen. He shivered.

"Hey!" He shouted towards where Heidi had exited. "Can you at least change the channel!?"

No response. Greg sighed, and sat down underneath the table, having no choice but to watch the eccentric talkshow host on the television until Heidi was ready.

~~~

Greg had dozed off; he had no idea how much time had passed when he had come to, but when he glanced at the television, he noticed that an entirely new program was airing at that moment. He then stood up and looked around. Heidi was nowhere to be found, and rain was beating against the window behind him.

"Damn, how much time does it take for her to set up whatever it is she's going to do?" Greg asked himself in frustration.

He stepped out from underneath the coffee table and took a few steps away from its shadow.

Suddenly, he found himself falling forward into the carpet. Grumbling at his perceived clumsiness, he looked towards his left foot and saw that he had tripped over something embedded in the floor. Said object resembled a handle, and also glowed with a white light. He had not noticed it before when he entered, so there was only one explanation as to where it had come from.

He stood up and pulled the handle out of the floor, surprisingly with little effort at all. The handle was attached to a small case. Greg sat on the floor and opened the case; inside was a note and a green flag. He pulled out both, examining the flag for a few seconds before turning his attention to the letter:

Congratulations! You're unearthed the first of five flags hidden across the house! This will be the only letter you receive during this game, so pay close attention... You must scour the entire house for the four remaining flags. You have two hours to do so. If you succeed, then I might just honor your request to paint my nails (fingers and toes) green as you so insisted. Fail, and... well, that will just be tough luck for you. Personally, I don't care either way whether you win or lose, but I am interested in seeing how far you get. ...Well, the game will officially start as soon as you're done reading this. Right about... ... ...NOW!!

The letter then burned away in a strange white fire, though instead of leaving behind ash, the letter was reduced to white sparkling magic that blew away as if the wind had carried them off. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his right hand. He looked at its palm, and saw that a timer had been embedded into it; it reading 2:00:00, then 1:59:59, then 1:59:58, and so forth.

Taking the first of the flag in hand, he stood up. "Well, I don't have much time. I better get started. ...But where do I start...? In here? ...Would she hide two flags in the same room? ...I don't think so."

Deciding to search elsewhere, Greg started to walk out of the living room, towards the front hallway and soon into the kitchen. A quick look around the kitchen did not reveal anything out of the ordinary, but he knew that the flags would not have been easy to spot in the first place.

Greg took to searching all around the kitchen; against the walls, in the corners, under the table and chairs, and in front of the appliances and counters. His search came up fruitless.

He sighed as he made his way to the center of the kitchen, particularly under the table. He looked at the timer on his palm; it read 1:41:31.

"I still have plenty of time," he said as he walked underneath the table, "but where is that damn flag?" He looked around himself. "It's gotta be around here somewhere. ...Or is there one even in here?" The prospect of him having wasted his time in the kitchen when the flag may not have been in there at all aggravated him.

At that point, he happened to look up above him, and saw it; right on the bottom of the table was the second flag. Seconds after his eyes locked onto it, it detached itself from the table above him and fell down to the floor in front of him. He reached down and picked it up, holding both of the flags in his left hand.

"Two down, three to go," Greg said. "...I guess it's time for the bedrooms."

As Greg made his way towards the back hallway, he suddenly heard the familiar sound of magic, from the direction of the front hallway. He wondered if it was Heidi doing something, but he quickly threw that thought out of his mind, as he had not seen her anywhere in the vicinity. Could it be another infiltrator like Irene? Someone who also had a score to settle with Heidi?

Letting his curiosity once again get the best of him, he turned around and rushed towards the front hallway, flags still in hand. He knew that he once again ran the risk of being attacked like before, but he wanted to see who exactly was breaking into the house this time.

Upon reaching the hallway, he was met with the sight of a young woman with a caramel skintone and curly brown hair, suggesting a biracial ethnicity. She wore an amber tubetop with a blue denim skirt, and black heeled boots. Around her neck was a silver necklace with a red jewel--perhaps a ruby--hanging from it, as well as small but similar earrings. She was quite attractive, but that did not change the fact that she had entered into their house without permission.

"Can I help you!?" Greg yelled out against his better judgement.

The woman looked towards him, and an expression of shock and astonishment appeared on her face. "Whoa! Are you what I think you are!?" She approached him and kneeled over him. "...Are you an Imp?"

"Hell no!" Greg answered. "I'm a human!"

"A human!? But why are you so small?"

"I'll ask the questions around here!" Greg said. "What are you doing here?"

"She's here to see me," answered a familiar voice from behind.

Greg turned and say Heidi standing in the kitchen doorway.

"There you are!" the new woman said. "I've gotten some new info on the Forbidden Spell situation, but first, what's up with this little guy right here?"

Heidi walked into the front hallway, standing right behind Greg. "It's an idea Parvati had... Well, both her idea and his, I guess. He's into that kind of thing, being a little vermin and all."

"I see... That's weird."

"Who are you, anyway?" Greg asked.

"My name is Deja Noir-Gibson," Deja answered, "and I'm a General Witch-in-training under Ms. Light here."

"Oh really? Then you must be the subordinate Heidi mentioned earlier. But still... You ever heard of knocking?"

"Greg, be quiet," Heidi ordered.

Greg turned towards Heidi behind him. "But you know what happened here last week." He turned back towards Deja. "For all I knew, she could have been another rogue Witch trying to beat you up. Plus, even if you know her, I'm not comfortable with a Witch I don't know just appearing in here unannounce-"

Before he could finish his sentence, something heavy fell upon him and pressed him hard against the floor. It did not take him long to realize that Heidi had stepped on him, perhaps to shut him up. He tried to move, even free himself, but the force that she was exerting onto his tiny body prevented him from doing much of anything. Eventually, he gave up, opting to listen to the conversation of the much larger Witches, or at least what he could make out from underneath Heidi's foot.

~~~

Deja looked to be stunned at what she had witnessed, Heidi having stepped on Greg to keep him quiet. She felt him struggling underneath, but did not pay it too much mind.

"Hey wait, is he alright?" Deja asked while looking at her foot. "You didn't squish him, did you?"

"He's fine. Don't worry about him," Heidi replied. "Tell me what you found out."

"Okay..." Deja stood upright. "...I got permission to look through the vault containing the Forbidden Spell scrolls, and... How many scrolls are there supposed to be, again?"

"Seven," Heidi answered. "...Don't tell me..."

Deja nodded. "Three scrolls are missing, including Cephei Aldebaran."

Heidi's mouth dropped in horror. "How did the guards even let anyone inside!? No one is allowed inside except for the Head Witches and us, and we need explicit permission!"

"The guards don't remember anything or anyone out of the ordinary," Deja said. "...In fact, they don't remember anything at all."

Heidi folded her arms. "...Something’s not right. Irene knowing of Cephei Aldebaran is bad enough, but you're telling me that someone has also leaked out two other spells? Which ones are they?"

Deja looked upward, as if she were pondering something. "Umm... ...I think..." She looked back towards Heidi. "Mu Carina, and Polaris."

Heidi let out a slight sigh of relief. "...Thankfully Cephei Aldebaran is the most destructive of those three, but as long as its scroll is still out there, we're not safe at all. I should have used physical force when I was interrogating Irene. Now it's too late; once the doors of the Abyss close, no one is allowed out under any circumstances until their time is up."

"Ms. Light..."

Heidi looked towards the living room. "I'm glad that I was able to stop her from using it, though. If I were not there, I fear what would have become of this entire region."

"You know that a Witch of Irene's level would have ended up killing herself if she managed to unleash it."

"And she would have taken millions of lives with her," Heidi said. "We can't let another Witch--or even a Human--find that scroll. We need to find it as soon as possible."

"I'll get some people on that," Deja said. "As well as finding who took them in the first place."

"All of the signs point to one of us," Heidi said as she turned back towards Deja. "The guards are not supposed to let anyone inside the vault except for--as I said earlier--us and the Head Witches."

Deja sighed. "It's scary that not even the General Witches can be trusted. ...But then again, I overheard some of them talking. They were talking about this world's current events and how if Witches did not have to hide themselves, they would have fixed most of the world's problems."

"...Interesting... But that could have just been banter."

Deja shrugged. "Maybe. Plus, I don't see how Cephei Aldebaran would solve anything. It'd just make things worse, unless their idea of 'fixing the world's problems' is genocide..."

"Deja," Heidi called. "Remember what Mu Carina does?"

Deja stared blankly at Heidi for a few seconds, before a look of realization appeared on her face. "Oh, right! ...Do you want me to investigate the others?"

"By all means," Heidi answered. "But make sure to keep a low profile. I don't want any of them catching on to what we're doing."

Deja nodded. "Right. ...Wow, it almost seems like you're not on vacation at all." She giggled.

"I'm starting to think I shouldn't have taken one at all," Heidi said, before letting out a deep sigh. "But it was the only way I could have started investigating all of this on my own. ...And with your help, of course."

Deja smiled. "I'll do my best! But anyway, I'm going back to the Aurora Realm now. I'll let you know if I find out anything new."

Heidi nodded. "Please do."

Deja then kneeled down on the floor, her attention on Heidi's right foot. "See you later, little guy! Don't stress her out too much!"

Standing back up, she walked towards the front door, and did a motion with her glowing right hand . After which, a portal opened up in front of her. Deja looked back towards Heidi and waved farewell, before stepping into the portal. Once she disappeared completely within the dimensional vortex, it shrunk until it had disappeared completely.

Heidi stood there, reviewing in her mind what Deja had just told her. Indeed, at this point, it was more than likely that a General Witch had stolen those three scrolls, and even leaked them to the outside world. She briefly considered that one of the Head Witches had done it instead, but she concluded that that was highly unlikely, as they all took a sacred vow to upload the honor and dignity of the Council. Whatever the case was, the fact that those three spells were out there was a serious concern for her. She could only hope that she and Deja would be able to solve this case before anything else happened with those spells; she knew that they had to hurry as well, as any one of those spells could be unleashed at any moment.

The one that worried her the most was Cephei Aldebaran, but luckily with the tremendous amount of energy and magic required to use it, only a fool would even consider unleashing it. However, Mu Carina and Polaris were still a concern, as while they're not as destructive as Cephei Aldebaran, they could still pose a problem for both the Human Realm as well as the Aurora Realm. All seven spells were forbidden for a reason, after all; in the wrong hands, they could render both realms uninhabitable.

In any case, all Heidi could do was hope that Deja was able to uncover something, if even a small clue that could give insight as to who the culprit is.

She turned to her left and walked towards the living room, stepping off of Greg on the floor below her.

~~~

The weight lifted off of Greg's body as light returned to his world. He watched as Heidi walked into the kitchen. Standing up, he was still surprised that Heidi of all people had chosen to silence him in such a manner. It was almost as if his dream from before had become real. Except that he was still alive. While under her foot, he also noticed that her sole was surprisingly soft for someone who walked barefoot everywhere. Once again, he knew that magic played a part, but as he determined before, he could not argue with the results.

He then glanced at his palm, and was surprised to see that the timer was still ticking away; it currently read 1:17:21.

"Hey, Heidi!" Greg shouted. "What's the deal!? This thing's still counting down!"

Heidi reappeared in the kitchen doorway. "I know."

"Why didn't you stop it while Deja was here!?"

"It wasn't me who made you come out here to meet her; you made that decision on your own. It's not my fault you wasted you time on a matter that didn't really concern you." She then turned and walked away.

Greg sighed as he watched the timer in his palm. "Can I even make it now? ...Well, I got nothing else to do. Might as well try."

As he walked into the kitchen, he recalled the conversation between Heidi and Deja, or at least what he could make out through Heidi's foot. Apparently, there was a traitor among the General Witches leaking out Forbidden Spells. He believed that there were two other spells having been stolen aside from the one he knew about.

He wanted to ask Heidi what those spells did, but he knew that she wouldn't tell him; he still didn't even know what the first spell did, aside from it being highly destructive. He thought that it was unfair of her to withhold such information from him, especially when that spell could have killed them both. However, he figured that it must have been the Witches' equivalent of the government's highly-classified information. ...Not that he wasn't curious about those, as well.

He walked into the back hallway, and his thoughts shifted to Deja, Heidi's subordinate.

"Deja really is a cutie, though," Greg said to himself. "I wonder if she'll come back around here anytime soon. ...Hopefully without those boots next time. Maybe I'll put in a word to Heidi. ...Wait, you're getting ahead of yourself, Greg. You already have the nail polish thing to deal with."

As he reached Trish's room, he looked at his palm. 1:04:02. Thankfully, without the mess, the search in Trish's room would not be as hard as it could have been.

"...Well, let's get this over with," Greg said as he entered inside.

~~~

Greg sat underneath the coffee table in the living room, looking begrudgingly at the five green flags that he had uncovered. Indeed, he had found the remaining three.

He looked again at his palm; it displayed 0:00:00, and had not changed in the past several minutes. He had run out of time before he could find the last one.

The third flag was inside Trish's bathroom, and the fourth was underneath Parvati's bed, right outside of his dollhouse. However, against what he had thought before, the fifth and final flag was indeed in the same room as where he had found the first flag; it was placed on the right side of the television, out of clear sight from where he was standing when the game had begun.

The worst thing was that, had he not had been trapped underneath Heidi's foot for so long, he could have made it back to the living room with enough time to complete the task; in fact, had he searched the room from the get-go, he would have made it even if he had had the run-in with Deja and Heidi.

"Dammit," he muttered to himself. "I can't believe I lost that one. I was so close, too."

He then heard footsteps approaching from his right. He looked and saw Heidi entering into the room. She immediately saw him sitting underneath the table.

"Looks like you lost," Heidi said. "That's too bad for you. I guess I'm sticking with my natural nail color," she taunted.

"Not cool, Heidi," Greg said.

"Like I said, you made the decision to stop and meet Deja. You have no one but yourself to blame. ...Maybe next time you'll do better."

Greg's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You're gonna give me another chance?"

Heidi shrugged. "Why not? A part of me actually wants to see you succeed. But you're going to have to wait for your next chance."

"...How long?"

"A few days, maybe a week."

"Oh..." Greg was a bit disappointed.

"...But in any case, now that you've met her, what'd you think of Deja?" Heidi asked.

"I think she's pretty cute," Greg answered. "A little bubbly, though."

"Yeah, she's a bit high-spirited, and she can be a ditz sometimes, but I can see that she has great potential. ...She reminds me of me when I was younger."

"How young is 'younger' for you?"

"That's a secret," Heidi answered. "Anyway, you'll probably see her again soon, so don't freak out when she appears in here again like you did today."

"I definitely won't," Greg replied.

Heidi nodded. "Good." She then turned around. "If you need me, I'll be in the dollhouse. There's still some things I need to go over." With that, she walked out of the living room.

Greg turned his attention back towards the five flags in front of him. He then looked at his palm; the timer had disappeared.

"I'll get it next time," Greg said to himself as he balled his hand into a fist, now more determined to win Heidi's game. "For the sake of beautiful green nails."



[End Chapter]