Charlotte

The plan had been simple, she would follow Troy to university where she could get a part time job and work on her tan while he studied and played ball. His scholarship would cover the majority their expenses. They would get married, he would get drafted in the first round and together they would live happily ever after. That had been the plan, until he fucked that stupid whore Ami Mills the night of the grad party. When Charlotte confronted him, he said they should see other people. She said no, so he dumped her. She scoffed, no one dumps the prettiest girl in school the day after graduation, and she was the prettiest, standing 5’6”, svelte body with firm perky breasts, long blonde hair, brown eyes that could melt you, she was a picture of perfection. She was the queen bee, head cheerleader, arm candy to the Westmount’s all-state quarterback. Every boy wanted her, every girl wanted to be her and now for the first time in four years, she was nobody.

Instead of moving to sunny Florida, she was now stuck in Colorado. Not the wife of a future NFL star, just a hotel chambermaid in the Rocky Mountain Lodge cleaning up after other people.

She pushed her cleaning cart up the hall, stopping in front of the door and knocked. “Housekeeping,” she said flatly. No response. “Housekeeping,” she repeated, again devoid of anything resembling enthusiasm. Still no answer. Taking out her key card, she inserted it into the lock and the little light flashed green. Pushing open the door, she entered the room. She wrinkled her nose, there was an odd smell lingering in the air. “Hello? Housekeeping,” she announced, but the room was vacant.

Letting out a sigh, she pulled the blanket off the rumpled bed. Something moved and scurried back between the pillows. She caught the flicker of movement, shrieked and jumped backward. She didn’t know what she had seen, a mouse, a spider, but there was definitely something there. Hustling back to her cart, she grabbed the aerosol can of mold and mildew remover. Thinking about it made her shudder. Cautiously she approached the pillow from the side of the bed, can poised to deliver a lethal dose of chemicals to whatever creepy crawly thing might be lurking underneath. Reaching out, she carefully took hold of the pillow. Two quick breaths, she flung the pillow back, and fired a healthy stream of fungicide all over the now exposed area, but there was nothing there. She looked at the other pillow. She was about to circle round the bed, when from around the back near the headboard, a little figure emerged, walking on two legs. She jumped and aimed the can, but stopped when her mind registered what it was she was looking at. It looked like a child’s toy but in actuality it was a tiny little naked man.

“OMG!” she exclaimed, mouth hanging open, doe eyes wide, mind trying to wrapped itself around the absurdity of the situation

At first when he heard the feminine shriek, he thought it might be Zara returned. When the blanket was pulled away, he was surprised to see someone different. This young woman looked like she worked for the hotel, dressed in a chambermaid uniform. There was no trace of Zara. He knew at some point he had lost consciousness and wondered how long he had been out. Everything in the hotel room had been sanitized, it must have been the support Vickers said he was sending he surmised. Holding his hands up toward the frightened young woman, he took a couple of tentative steps forward. “Is okay,” he reassured, accent thick.

She leaned in closer to look at him. “What are you?” she asked, scrutinizing him. He was leanly muscled, short brown hair on his head.

“My name is Oleg,” he replied, “I need to make phone call,” he said, “Is very important.”

She reached down tentatively and touched him with her left index finger, as if to reassure herself he was indeed real. He remained still. “How? How is this possible?” she asked, him being no longer than her index finger. He was warm to her touch, flesh soft. She pulled her hand away, gawping.

He shook his head but remained still, fearing any sudden movement might encourage her to unleash another potentially lethal torrent of mold and mildew cleaner.

“Are you human?” she asked, can of noxious spray still at the ready.

“Yes, human, just very small,” he answered.

“How did you get this way?” she asked, amazed.

“I don’t know,” he replied, unsure of how Zara had indeed rendered him so tiny. He did now believe her in regards to the final resting place of Arthur Thelwell. He desperately needed to call in, to warn Mr. Vickers of her unusual power and penchant for diminishing. “I need to make phone call. You have cell?” he asked.

She shook her head, blonde ponytail swaying back and forth. “We’re not allowed to have our phones with us during non-break times,” she lamented.

“Maybe you could get phone, I wait here” he added.

She considered it for a moment, but was reluctant to leave him unattended. “No,” she said, “It’s in my locker and I’d have to pass by the head housekeeper’s office, she’s a real bitch and I don’t want to get into trouble.”

He nodded. If only the extraction team had left his clothes and phone, this wouldn’t be an issue. “I cannot remain in hotel room,” he said.

She smiled warmly. She didn’t know what to make of the unusual circumstances that had put her in this situation. She had been having the shittiest week of her entire life and now she finds a little tiny man. As she stood towering over this little man, she felt a surge of empowerment. He was so tiny, so vulnerable and fragile, like a baby bird fallen from its nest. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you,” she assured.

She looked at her cart, then down at him. She didn’t want to try and hide him there, what if one of the others chambermaids found him? A smile touch her pretty face again as she thought of the perfect place to conceal him. Unsure of how delicate he might be, she gently picked him up and brought him to her chest. Pulling back her the cup of her bra on her left side, she slid him inside between the fabric and the smooth flesh of her breast. Usually this was where she kept her cell phone safe.  He moved about in the bra, tickling her some, but it also tingled in a much more delightful way as her nipple began to stiffen.

Troy had left her, but this one couldn’t leave, he needed her for everything. He would be hers, forever.