Those of noble blood stood above the masses for a reason. They were the descendants of the heroes of the old war. They were people who either had conquered or were born from conquerors of vast territories. They were the leaders that built their kingdoms to the prosperous states of the present.

Nobles were people of great power, and the nobles with the most power were the royal family. They not only led the all of the common peasants within their realm but also the nobles of lesser status and rank. They could raise an army, regulate taxes, and oversee the development of their land. The members of the royal family managed their entire kingdom from their mighty fortress of a castle.

To the people of the kingdom of Theia, it was only natural to be led and ruled over by the royal family. After all, only true owners of the noble blood of past heroes could effectively control a kingdom and its many subjects. Members of the royal family held the ancient blessings bestowed upon their heroic forefathers. With this blessing, no one could oppose them. Be it a soldier of a distant kingdom or an malicious assassin for hire or even a mighty rampaging dragon, a descendant of the ancient heroes had the power of Absolute Authority over all beings in his or her kingdom.

And what a grand power it was. 

“My dear, Celina, the man before you is the thief that stole food and gold from our town’s shops and inns. He and his family now stand before us awaiting his trial. How would you punish him?” the queen of Theia spoke to her fair daughter, Celina, as they sat on their respective thrones that towered over their subjects. As part of the lessons to teach the young maiden of the duties of a ruler, she had brought the captured ruffian and his family before them. The man had already been deemed guilty, but the queen wanted Celina to decide his punishment appropriately.

Princess Celina looked down from her throne at the man. Her verdant green eyes monitored his every movement. He was a thin, bony man. Under the watchful eye of two female guards, he was bound by rope and restrained. She could see the man was bruised from his capture and that his eyes were bloodshot and blackened. Judging from his and his family’s tattered and dirty clothes, they were peasant farmers.

“Your Highness, please have mercy!” the man pleaded. Tears trickled down his swelling cheeks when he glanced back at his wife and daughter. “The last storm destroyed half of our fields. I tried with all of my strength to salvage what I could, but we didn’t have enough crops to sell or enough food for all of us. I had to steal so we could survive. Please reconsider, Your Highness! If I die, there will be no one to support my family! If you must kill me, then please help my family so they may survive past the winter!”

At his words, the mother gasped. “Gregory!”

“Papa! No!” cried the man’s little twelve year old daughter. She tried to run up and hug the man, but was immediately blocked by a spear wielding guard.

“So what do you think, Celina?” asked the queen asked. “You too hold the Authority of our lineage. How would you punish this man? Will you execute him?”

“No! No! Don’t kill Papa!” the daughter shouted loudly.

The man was a thief. Celina knew she had to take that into account. She could not pardon a man simply because of his daughter. Stealing from the city’s businesses was a crime, even if it was for his family. If the family needed help with restoring their fields and getting enough food, they should have asked for it.

However, Celina frowned at the child’s tears. Her love for her father dug into Celina’s heart. She didn’t know her father well. Having married into the royal family, he was not a powerful person like her mother. In fact, he was just simple yet generous aristocrat whose kindness had won her mother’s heart. Unfortunately, he died when she was very young due to an illness. As such, seeing a young girl desperately struggling against the castle guards to reach her father touched her heart.

Celina stood up, much to her mother’s delight. The moment her foot hit the stone floor, the ground of the throne room shook. The guards and peasants all stopped moving when they felt their princess’s action. Immediately, the guards knelt and peasant family followed suit.

There was no way that the guards and peasants could ignore the princess as Celina closed the distance between her and them in two steps. After all, even if they stood upright, they were still shorter than the heel of her ruby red shoes. Standing around 150 feet tall much like her mother, Princess Celina was a clear example of the royal bloodline. She towered over them in her elegant pink dress like a tall hill and could simply step on them if she had the desire to.

“What is your name, little girl?” Celina ignored the peasant man and focused her gaze on his daughter.

“L-Lynet, Princess,” she stuttered. She spoke softly but with Celina’s powers, she could hear the young girl clearly. She could hear her softest whimpers and even see her slightest trembles as she looked up at her powerful ruler.

“Lynet, is it?” Celina smiled gently and knelt down. The mere act of doing so pushed the air around her down as well, creating a sudden gust that knocked over the unprepared girl, her father, and a few of the guards. She then placed her index finger on the girl’s head. “Lynet, your father committed a crime to support you and your mother. He will be punished for his crimes, but if I do that, your family will be short one farmer. Would you be willing to work in his place?”

Lynet stiffened as the pillar of a finger tapped her fallen body. It felt heavier than a cartful of hay, and she wasn’t putting even the slightest bit of weight on her.

“Well?” Celina awaited her answer. She let go of the girl so she could stand up.

“Y-Yes! Yes I will work!” the young girl shouted up at the princess. “Just please, don’t kill my papa!”

“Very well,” Celina smiled. When she spoke, her voice echoed and her green eyes narrowed. She invoked her Absolute Authority on her subjects. The young girl and her father began to change. Their bodies began to glow.

The father, as small as he was when compared the gigantic princess, became even smaller. His body slipped out of the ropes that bound him, but even with his arms and legs free, he could not escape. He was now smaller than the feet of the two female guards who had taken him to the throne room. The more experienced of the two guards immediately restrained him by putting her boot on his body. She did not slam her foot, but she was not gentle. He had the wind knocked out of him by a boot as large as a house. To them, he was no more than a doll in height, yet to the princess and queen, he was a bug. If he could stand, he wouldn’t even be able to see the top of Celina’s shoe. She wouldn’t even notice if she stepped on him and crushed him. He could easily end up a bloody stain on the vast castle floor.

As for the daughter, she grew along with her clothes. The male guard who had been keeping her away as well as her mother both took several steps away from the 12 year old as she practically doubled in height. She shot up to 10 feet tall. The knight and her mother were now level with her hip and staring at the larger girl in awe. Celina hid a smile when she realized that the little figures at her feet were stunned just because a young girl had grown tall enough to reach her ankle when she was wearing her heels.

“For the next two years, Sir Gregory, you will be sentenced to live at that size,” the Theian princess declared. Her loud voice boomed like thunderclaps into the ears of the smaller farmer. “This way, you will be a much smaller mouth to feed for your family, though that can’t be said for your daughter.”

Turning towards Lynet, Celina pointed at the 10 foot doll of a girl with commanding presence. “Miss Lynet, as you’ve chosen to take up this duty, you must act like a grownup now. To help you with that, I’ve… well, grown you up. You should be able perform your father’s work with much more ease like this. Be sure to work hard.”

“Y-Yes, Princess Celina! Thank you for sparing Papa!” the girl accepted. After answering the princess, she looked at the guards and her mother. She was unused to looking down at the adults who always told her what to do. She was probably taller than her home, though not bigger than the barn at least.

The princess gestured for her guards to relax. The guard with her foot on the diminished thief took it off and stepped to the side with her comrades. She watched as Lynet stepped forward and picked up her father. She completely engulfed him in her clenched hand.

“This is the punishment I have decided on,” Celina declared. Her eyes focused on the female guard who had stepped on the shrunken father earlier who was ready to receive orders. “Rose, I leave the rest of their affairs to you.”

“Certainly, Princess,” the guard kneeled and bowed her head. She then turned to the queen and did the same. “Your Highness, this is the last for today. We will be taking our leave.”

The queen nodded her head at the little guard woman. “Very well, Rose. Thank you very always being so diligent. Do take care and get some rest.”

“By your orders,” Rose replied before directing her comrades and the peasant family out. Although she was young, just a few years Celina’s senior, she was an experienced and strong woman. As one of the most trusted knights who served the princess and queen, Rose knew how to go about her duties. She did not hesitate to direct the 10 foot girl out the peasant doors of their castle or point her spear at her to force her to bend down so as to not bump her head. Compared to the doors the royals used, the one the guards went through was no more than a mouse hole in the wall from their ruler’s perspectives.

When the guards and peasants left, Celina held her hand to her chest and began breathing in and out slowly. Her heart had been pounding the entire time. She turned to her mother who sat on the throne with a smug smile.

“How was that, Mother?” she asked anxiously.

The queen stood up and approached Celina. The princess nervously awaited her response and jumped when she put her hands on her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

“That was lovely, Celina. You punished that foolish thief but considered the consequences on his family. Truly a fine example of a benevolent ruler,” she praised Celina.

“Really, Mother?” the young princess was elated.

“You are gentle soul, much like your late father,” the queen frowned at the memories she was digging up, but she pushed through to properly teach her daughter. “But I want you to be aware. If you are too kind, people will walk all over you. Know your limits and stand firm when you must.”

“Yes, Mother,” Celina moved to return her mother’s hug and closed her eyes. She felt warm and happy to receive her warm words, happy enough to even joke. “But our subjects are all so small. Surely, we’d be walking all over them.”

“You have a point,” the queen laughed and let go of Celina. She gestured toward the enormous door of the throne room that led to the rest of their castle. “Come, let’s retire for the day. I’m sure you need a rest after doing something you were not used to.”

Celina took her mother up on that offer. She could use a reprieve after learning from her mother the entire day. She followed the queen deeper into the enormous castle that overlooked their town and relaxed. There would be times when she would have to use her power to change the size of people again, and when that time came, she would be ready, but until then, she could relax. Tomorrow would be another day of lessons and duties and so would the next. As tiring and tedious as it was, it was a sign that their kingdom was at peace.

Such was another day for the royal family.