Keith awoke a few hours later. "Wha...what time is it?" he asked. "8:13" she said. "You shouldn't have let me sleep" he mumbled. "You were exhausted Keith. I could smell the stress on you" she said. "Hope. She's been thinking strange things. Saying out of the way stuff about humanity and how we can't coexist with them" he said. "And she might be right. You won a great victory for borrower rights, but the war is far from over. Looking at my daughter over there I have to wonder what world she's going to grow into a woman in. You heard the sex worker trade has seen a shitload of borrowers coming in lately right?" she asked. "So I heard" Keith said. "I don't want some no name pervert using my daughter as a jerkoff toy. Some human asshole with 100 bucks sucking on her body like candy and then eating her for kicks just to be puked back up" she said narrowing her eyes. "And if she chooses a human mate?" Keith asked. "Then they better treat her like the Irish queen she is" Susan replied.

"So you agree that humans and borrowers can be partners?" he asked. "Humans have caused more misery for us than any other species. A least there's an excuse for a cat. They're just following instincts. They see us as a hairless tasty mouse. Humans? We look like them, talk like them, dream, desire and love like them. But so many of them treat us like playthings" she said. Keith crowed and looked at the floor. "But not all of them. Aspen, my father and so many others believe we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness just like they do. It's not a perfect world by any means but it is getting better one day at a time" she said touching his cheek. Keith kissed her. "I needed that" he said. He went to the door. "Leaving?" she asked. "Yeah" he sighed. "Oh. I was thinking we could you know..." she said. "Tomorrow I promise. You can even eat me" he winked. She walked up to him and licked his cheek. "You'll taste delicious smothered in honey" she whispered. She waved bye to him as he left. "Jesus. Her sex drive is worse than mine" he thought as he made his way back to the mansion.

Keith had returned to their room and asking her name a few times found Hope not to be there. Annoyed, he pulled up her location. "She's in the mansion at least" he muttered. He texted her to come to their room so they could talk. Keith heard a notification ding. "Shit" he muttered seeing her phone sitting behind the clock on the nightstand. He picked it up. It was faint but he could smell traces of water and salt. Tears. The smell of tears on the screen. Keith tried a magical link. "Honey where are you?" he asked. No answer. "Hope is daddy. I'm not angry anymore. I'm worried. You supposed to have your phone if you leave and I don't know where you are and if you're okay" he said. Still nothing. Keith hurried out of their room to look for Joseph.

At that same moment...

Hope couldn't believe she had come. This was the enemy after all, but his words still rang in her mind. Markus had all but forecasted Keith’s response to her questions. And the answers her father gave her she couldn't abide. She cried out of frustration as she tried to find reason behind what Keith had said but she determined with all the insight he gave; it would not save her species...or possibly the world. Hope made her choice and translocated to the Ritz Carleton in London. With a mere thought, she transformed her dress into elegant emerald silk with matching heels, her hair bouncier with a slight curl at the ends. Her reddened eyes from crying now clear. She entered the lobby and saw a young woman of similar stature richly dressed. She compared herself to her and saw her purse. Hope had never truly wanted for anything, but she felt compelled to have that. She felt lesser not having a purse for a reason she knew not. "What kind of purse is that?" she asked the woman.

The woman scrutinized her as if an animal finding a rival in their territory. The woman saw no jewelry about her and then smirked. "Now this place caters to call girls?" she thought. Hope cocked her head to the side not understanding that thought. "I politely asked a question" Hope said. "Don't you have a John to be worried about?" she asked smirking. Hope delved deeper into her mind to understand why she thought she was here to see someone named John. "Ah. You think I'm a girl here for sex. That's not the case. Now please answer my question without the attitude for I have done nothing to you" Hope asked. The woman found the girl strange and unnerving especially the way her eyes twinkled. "It's Louis Vuitton" she muttered. "What’s it made out of?" she asked. "Leather" she muttered. "What kind of leather? Cow, reptile, human?" she asked. The woman nearly pissed herself hearing Hope asked if it was made out of human skin. "Cow! Jesus!" the woman said quickly walking away. Hope walked to the bathroom and snapped her fingers. Somewhere, some poor cow just screamed bloody murder...

Hope has created her own designer purse by memory and found herself more confident. Still, the snobbery of the woman from before annoyed her. She felt an urge to punish the woman as she had been mean to Hope just because she felt intimidated by her looks. Hope dismissed it she felt it was not evil just misguided. Hope had seen a sign saying to reach the penthouse (where Markus was) the receptionist had to buzz her up. "Excuse me sir. I need to get to the fourth penthouse" she said. The man had eyed her from toes to nose. "Your guest has arrived sir" he said quietly on an intercom. "Good" Markus said on the other end. Hope could sense his lewd thoughts but that didn't bother her. It was by no means the first time she experienced that. He directed her to a lift not used by other guests. Hope felt it take her up. She was nervous, worried if she was doing the right thing going behind her father's back. She had seen Keith angry before and his rage could go deep.

The lift stopped at the 30th floor which opened to a T intersected hallway. Before she could knock, Markus opened it. With a gesture, he motioned for her to enter. "Please make yourself at home. Kick off those shoes and sit while we wait for dinner" he said. Hope removed her shoes feeling the soft expensive carpet under her soles. She sat in a chair and looked out of the window at the city below. "Magnificent isn’t it? Once upon a time you couldn't even remotely see this far due to smog and soot. The city was a cesspool using that time. Child sweatshops, brothels on every corner, Jack the Ripper making the headlines. Look at human progress. Smog replaced with carbon dioxide, brothels with escort services, and every woman violated by cameras hanging on lampposts and stop lights" he said chuckling. He sat next to her. "I see your ankle is better" he said. "Of course it is" she said roughly. "Only making conversation. Tell me. Did you speak of our meeting with your father?" he asked. She shook her head. "Good call. Your father has a habit of hiding the truth of the world from you" he said.

"He said we should rely on humans changing gradually. That we should adhere to their norms and society" she muttered. "Give it time approach. Of course he would say that. Optimists always say we should wait. Time however has taught me that humans will always bounce to one atrocity after another. Auschwitz, Armenia, Rwanda" he muttered. "He said we should tolerate evil as it’s a natural thing in the world. That's we can't stamp it out with force. That humanity needs to find the solution" she said coldly. "And how has that worked out for borrowers? Sure, you throw them a bone in the form of "human rights" but is it real? They can't adopt human kids, no law protecting them from accidental injury or death. Shit, I can go outside right now, crush one under my foot and say I never saw her down there and get away with it" he said. Hope abruptly stood up and walked to the window. Markus stood behind her. "And it isn't just borrowers. The yaksha have to live in seclusion for fear of humans. Koonago are close to extinction, The Alux like your friend Elena live in the fucking jungle for fear of what humans will do learning of their existence. At least the Mogwai were on the right track by seeing humans as a means to an end for survival. And the fae? Only two left on the planet now. Every magical race has borne the stranglehold of the human race one way or another. It's not coincidence the only one not to take their shit has become the most prosperous"

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Down there are sheep. And in their flock are wolves that prey on them. And we? We are their shepherds. It's come time for people like us to tend our flock and kill the wolves" he said coldly. There was a knock on the door which made her jump. Markus opened the door and a busboy brought in a tray of food. Markus bid him to leave and had Hope sit at the table. Markus said nothing as they began eating the steak and lobster dinner. Hope had never eaten lobster before and found the thing ugly as fuck. Still though she was curious enough to try it. "Dip it in butter" he said. Hope cracked it open took a chuck and dipped it. She was shocked such a disgusting looking thing tasted so good. "I have questions" she said. "Fire away" he said drinking the expensive wine. "Aquarius tried to kill my dad. That alone I should kill you for so why should I side with you even IF I agree with what you say?" she asked.

"Aquarius was an imbecile. He decided on his own that Susan should be eliminated. It was not by my order that he did what he did. Yes, I did sanction that Susan should be eliminated but I never said your father should be a target" he replied. "Just like that?!" she yelled. "One of the things about being a leader is you'll have morons trying to suck up to you. Avarice isn't just a human trait" he replied. "Speaking of Susan. Where is yours? Not a coincidence she's not here" Hope asked. Markus smiled as she was no fool. "Back in New York. If she tagged along, we'd have a nice body count. There's no love lost when it comes to you. Honestly, she nearly more trouble than she's worth. She hates humans like a vampire hates the sun. Seriously, she giggled like a schoolgirl as she ate a woman's children in front of her. I only brought her over to counter this world's Susan."

"I asked her how she awakened to her powers and she told me something that made even my skin crawl. Shortly after she was sent back the first time, that world's Keith tortured her for three days for her little transgression. Finally, he strangled her and just as she was about to shed the mortal coil she awoke. She beat him within seconds, literally broke his body and then went after the version of you there. She said she snapped your neck as you slept and made him watch as she ate your little body bit by bit. Only when he begged to die did she oblige by raping him till his heart gave out. When I found her, she had conquered all of the UK. Totally laid waste to London just as a warning. Deaths in the millions. All in a few weeks. What do you think she could do in a year?" he asked. "And you brought that here?" Hope asked. "If you joined me, I wouldn't need her anymore. Her usefulness would come to an end" he said. Hope finished her dinner not saying anything else.

"Let me show you something Hope" he said after dinner. He opened his laptop and pulled up a file. "I keep extensive files on people of interest. For example, this man here. Robert Abernathy. American, 59-year-old male. A senator from Wisconsin. Three kids and four grandchildren. A self-proclaimed man of the people, he announced his bid for president in the 2020 election. His hobbies are cars, agriculture, hunting, and taxidermy. Seems like an okay guy but I did find something odd. He utterly rallied against borrower rights more than any other congressman. When a man tries too hard, it's about something. ZODIAC hacked his bank records and found a lot of debits from various pet shops in Milwaukee" he said. "None of which is evil. Just means he's an asshole" Hope said. "You sure about that?" he asked opening a translocation gate. "Lately I've been using human transportation to keep me off my father's radar, but tonight is a special occasion" he said taking her hand. Hope reluctantly followed him through.

 Robert was enjoying some old malt scotch as he sat in his study. Looking out the window he could see his kids and grandkids playing in the snow. His wife and daughter in law had gone Christmas shopping leaving him alone in his multimillion-dollar home. Bing Crosby playing on his antique record player as he thought about his campaign strategy. That was interrupted by a hole in space time and two figures emerging. "What...the...fuck?" he asked. He looked at his drink thinking he had too much, but he could smell Hope's perfume. A barefoot teenage girl in a dress and a young man looking dead at him. "What the hell...who the hell are ya?!" he yelled standing up. Hope looked at him form a moment and began looking at the study. Some deer heads and old book but nothing strange. "I asked a question!" he yelled. "My associate here is determining if you're evil" he said. The man looked at him as if he was nuts as he got out of his chair.

"You see. I know you hate borrowers. You got a perverse hate for them for sure, but the question is why. No, that ship has sailed. You see Bob...can I call you Bob?" Markus asked. He ignored him as he went to his desk. "I know you visited the pet shop numerous times and then suddenly stopped when the borrower rights bill passed. It's easy to know why. Now my question is what happened to them all?" Markus asked. The senator pulled out a .44 magnum revolver and shot Markus in the head. Hope screamed from the pain the sound caused her ears. "Don't fucking move. I rather not kill a pretty girl like you too" he said as he pulled out his phone. He hit 9...1...

"That wasn't an answer to my question" Markus said standing up. The man pissed himself seeing the young man's brains reform in his opened skull before it closed. The hair and skin grew right back leaving no trace of the damage. "I doubt you ate them. Doubt you squished them too. No. You're a trophy kind of guy" Markus said. "What do you mean? What is he saying?" Hope asked them. "Care to show her Robert you real prize catches?" Markus asked. Robert couldn’t help but think of his basement. "There's something in his basement" she said. "It's your house. Lead the way" Markus said. Robert terrified of the man who seemingly came back from the dead led him to his basement. Markus turned on the light and Hope fell to her knees in horror. Lined up on shelves was dozens...over a hundred in total of dead, stuffed, and perfectly preserved borrowers. All of them teenagers. Markus looked at each and every one finding some barely old enough to be called a teen. Other than that, one glaring, utterly damning thing common for each and every one of them. Something he knew would push Hope over the edge. "You should see this Hope. I know it's horrible to even glance at, but you should see" he muttered.

Hope got to her feet and went over to them. She went and looked at them one by one and she had noticed what he had seen. The girl shook as the air smelled of ozone. The glow of magic surrounded her body. "You didn't just kill them. You gave each one a fake smile. Hope held out her hand and shrunk Robert on the spot. Her giant feet slapping on the concrete floor as she walked over to him. She raised her foot over him. "Please! I have a family!" he screamed. "So...did...they" she muttered. "I'm sick! I know it! I need help! Please spare my life and I'll atone!" he begged. Hope lowered her foot back onto the floor and the small man rushed to kiss her toes. "Your father says human have to solve society's problems on their own. My father says they're full of potential. Are you willing to let a man like him, a man who murdered so many borrowers and made his bones on pushing to keep them as playthings, have the chance to become president? Such a man could have congress repeal borrowers’ rights and all the hard work your father, your mother, and Claire did would be dust."

"Your mother's marriage would be tossed out. Claire would lose her livelihood. Susan would be removed from the Durmont family register. And that's just what happens around you. In the end...extinction" he whispered in her ear. Hope looked at the preserved bodies once more and snarled in a way that give Markus goosebumps. She stepped back. "Crushing you under my feet is too quick and merciful" she said as she raised her hand. In a display of unbridled power that she hadn't used since the day of the battle with Ebonheart, Hope called out to the souls of the borrowers he murdered. Hope couldn't restore their lives as their guts and innards had been discarded and rotted away some time ago, but that didn't mean they couldn't be used.

One by one, a soul found its former body and possessed it. The most eerie creaking sound came from them as they began moving. They hopped down to the floor and began walking to Robert. He screamed and tried to run only to find a giant foot blocking him. A good nudge sent him head over heels. "Why...why? I begged...pleaded...why?" a voice asked coming from a body. "Where's my sister? Where...is...she?" another asked. Each one asking him why he did it or where loved ones were. Hope watched as the first ones grabbed him and dragged him into the mob. "GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME! NO....NO...NOOOOO!" he screeched as they began pulling and tearing at his shrunken body. Hope watched in silence as they now dragged his bloody and badly bruised, yet alive, naked body to a worktable. He screamed as they slammed pins through his wrists and ankles. "Please...please don't. I'm sorry. Oh god I'm sorry. Please...." he whined as the corpses had prepared his taxidermy kit. Hope tugged on Markus's shirt as they stuck the dissecting scalpel into his chest starting at the collarbone. "It's okay. We can go" he said. "The...the spell will end when they get their revenge..." she muttered. Markus helped her back through the gate leading to his penthouse room.

He had Hope sit on the bed. "You helped them get peace and probably saved a lot of borrower lives" he said. She looked at him and broke into sobs. Markus hugged her tightly as she cried into his shoulder. When she has settled, he got up and gave her a tissue. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Markus knelt on the floor and her feet. She looked at him in shock as he sucked her toes. "I'm sorry. I know borrowers really like their feet worshiped and I thought it would calm you" he said. She grabbed him by the neck and slammed him on the bed making it squeak. Markus found himself shrinking as she stared at him with glowing eyes. Hope pulled off her dress and panties exposing herself. The giantess bent down and sniffed his shrunken body. Her mouth drooled as she licked him. Grabbing him and laying on her back, she roughly shoved him into her. Hope let out a painful yelp as her hymen was torn away. But that didn't stop her. As she began ramming him in and out of her.

Being her biological age, she was ripe for sex. Intimacy with her father had slowed her urges but they never stopped. She gripped him tighter as she shoved him in and out faster and faster. She didn't hear his ribs break. The gurgling as he drowned in her fluids. And with a screech she came. Markus slipped out of her unmoving until he coughed out her pussy juices. "You do know you killed me three times?" he asked. "Good. Perfect..." she growled as he snatched him up. Hope shoved him into her mouth this time and fingered herself furiously. The bedposts began to warp from the forceful pounding of her body on the bed. She came again with a squeak and let his body slip down her throat with an audible gulp. Markus landed in a pool of chewed up steak, lobster, salad and wine and chuckled to himself. Even with the acrid air nonexistent and her gastric juices stinging his skin, he knew he had succeeded.

He waited for her heartbeat to slow before coming back up. Let her savor her desires fulfilled. Hope gagged and coughed him up like some hairball. She expected him to be angry, but he just laughed. Markus showed the bile off him and returned to her. He sat on the bed still shrunk and began licking her giant feet. "I can't believe I did that" she muttered. "Killing him, fucking and eating me?" he asked. "All of it" she said. Markus pushed her second and third toes apart and licked between them. "It was meant to be Hope. You think it's a coincidence you were born here and now? Ebonheart had nothing to do with it. 20,000 years for this moment here. The world is on the brink and a once in an eon event can rectify that. It all leads to this moment. You were free. Free to do what you wanted, desired, longed for" he said. Hope canceled the spell on him growing him back. "I want you to fuck me for real" she muttered.

Markus slid into her causing her to flinch. She blushed as he looked into her eyes. "Don't ever be ashamed of how you feel" he whispered. Hope, never had a full-sized penis in her before, was afraid and excited at the same time. Having a shrunken person in her was nothing compared to being filled up by him. She gasped as his lips found her right nipple. She thought for a moment to use magic to make breastmilk by she figured why spoil it by cheating. Markus held her by the waist as he pounded her. Her voice rising higher and higher until he kissed her deeply. His tongue licking her teeth. His mouth sucking her tongue. She could taste him, and he loved every second of it. She clamped her legs around his waist and pinned him. "Please...release your sperm in me" she said softly. He brushed her hair out of her eyes and rubbed her cheek as he shot rope after rope of cum very deep inside her. Not long after, Hope, emotionally exhausted lay on his chest in her natural size.

Markus licked her little feet listening to her giggle and sigh as she stared at the ceiling. He stopped and began rubbing her bare belly. She let out a belch and laughed. "Gross" he muttered. "Says the man licking my dirty feet" she said. "Nothing about you is dirty" he said using his finger to flip her onto her stomach. He pulled her up to his chin by her ankles. "Case in point" he chuckled. Hope let out a squeal as his tongue licked her ass and parted her cheeks. "Fuck...that feels so good. I'm getting wet again" she moaned. He could taste her sweet taint on his tongue as she bucked her legs. Hope came with a whimper letting her juices dribble into the maw of the giant. "I need you to do something for me" he said. "What?" she asked rubbing her bare feet into his cheeks. "I need you to steal the second fragment of the Eye from your father. It's necessary" he said. Hope was quiet. "...alright" she muttered. Under his insistence, she showered his scent off her before sending her home.     

Keith sat in the dark waiting for her to come back. He was by no means alright as Joseph had told him he couldn't sense Hope at all, but he did have an ominous word with him. "Either she's that pissed or she's hiding something. Could very well be both Keith" he said. Keith wondered what she could be hiding from him. She was open enough to say where she went and follow the rules but was her leaving her phone behind an accident or on purpose? She was blocking them, so he had to assume it was on purpose. She he yells at her? Punish her? He really didn't know. The door opened.

"Have a seat Hope" he said turning the lights on. "Why did you leave your phone?" he asked. "...I didn't want to be bothered" she replied softly kicking her shoes off. "Is that why you hid yourself from magical sight?" he asked. "I have a right to privacy" she said coldly. "The thing about privacy is it runs parallel with trust. By going off on your own and breaking the rules you damaged my trust in you" he said. "By borrower law I'm of age" she said tossing her dress aside and standing only in a bra and panties. "Biologically yes. Chronologically no. You are not ready" he said. "I am ready!" she yelled. A small burst of power cracked the mirror behind him. Keith looked at it. She walked over to it and sealed the cracks with magic. "I'm not some wayward child. I only play one to alleviate your fears" she said. "Nobody is afraid of you" Keith said surprised. "Bullshit! I can sense the fear in your mind every time I use my power. Wonder, curiosity, fear" she said.

She sat in his lap. "Do you have any idea how hurtful it is to be feared by people you love the most?" she asked. She kissed him and got up. "It's time I started doing things the way I want because your way gets people killed" she said. She immediately regretted what she said feeling the pain in his heart. "What we do isn't easy. Being a leader isn't without risk or sacrifice" he said. "If that's true, then why isn't humans dying on these missions? They live, we die" she said. "So Fiona's death was meaningless?" he asked. "For a species that gave us rights to shut others up? What good is that? How long do you have to wait to see them turn on us? How long does people like me and Claire hide our gifts from the world? A world that needs us" she asked. She waved her hand. "Go to bed daddy. I grow tired of this conversation" she said. "Yes...Hope" he muttered. Hope soon laid in her own bed looking at her father. She had used her magic on him in a way she never dreamed she could do. Controlling his mind to silence his objection. She found herself not feeling guilty about it. In her mind he was wrong, and she was right.

The next morning, she watched Keith as she entered the kitchen. "Look who decided to wake up" Keith said to Aspen. Hope nervously waved hi as she didn’t know what effect her spell had on his memory. "French toast with bacon, eggs, and juice" Aspen said. "My favorite" Hope muttered. "Daddy clued me in" Aspen winked. As she ate sitting next to her parents, she found herself remorseful for controlling his mind. "Honey. Would you like to have some fun today?" Aspen asked. "Okay" Hope said. "Great!  There's this store I want to go to and we can get our nails done and then we can have lunch!" Aspen said happily. Hope nodded as she finished her food.

Hope forced herself to smile during her outing. She knew that today would be the last time for a long time she would have these moments with her family. For that evening, she would betray them. "Wish I had feet as nice as yours" Aspen said as they got their nails done. "Dad says my feet look like yours" she said. "He'd know, I guess. He told me that he helped you out with some...personal stuff" Aspen said. Hope waved her hand for a moment. "You mean stroking my tiny pussy because I was so horny?" Hope asked. Aspen clapped her hand over her daughter's mouth. "Relax. They're under a perception spell. You could scream bloody murder and they'd never notice" she said. Aspen tapped the head of the Asian woman washing her feet. Nothing. "Ahem. Yes that. Were you comfortable with that?" she asked. "I came. Dad was nice enough to get me off" she replied. Aspen was a little unnerved. "And that goes right back to what I said yesterday. That feeling" she said.

"Mom. You don't understand how I feel. I want my toes sucked. I want someone to pleasure me. Look me in the eyes and give their body and soul to me. Fill me with their seed, feel a life grow inside me. My breasts large with milk. I want to be a mother. As much as you want Claire, I want that. And to deny me that because of my circumstances which I never asked for is cruel. Okay, dad told me you got all kinds of shit for wanting to be with Claire. Did that stop you?" she asked. "Honey that's different" Aspen said. "No, you made it different. You had a part of society that told you it was wrong, and you and Claire told them to fuck off. You have to face facts, I'm not human nor will I ever be" she said roughly. Aspen was very quiet. "No. I never said that" Hope suddenly said. "Said what?" Aspen asked. "What you just thought. I never said I was ashamed of being part human. I ashamed of not using my power to make people's lives better. See that woman sitting in that chair?" she asked pointing to a middle-aged woman waiting for a stylist.

"She had terminal cancer. Not anymore she doesn't" she said snapping her fingers. "The borrower girl painting my big toe has been having nightmares for weeks about a trauma when she was a child. She's thinking of killing herself. Boom. The memory was erased" she said. "Hope! You can't just use magic to tamper with people's lives!" Aspen yelled.  "Tamper with...okay. One moment while I give that lady back her life ending cancer" Hope said raising her hand. "NO!" Aspen yelled. Hope looked at her. "While they pray to a deity to fix their lives I can actually deliver. Surely you can see that because you named me Hope" she said. Hope looked out of the window for a moment. "In three minutes, a little boy is going to be hit by a car. He won't survive" she muttered. She turned to her mother who could see her eyes glowing. "Tell me what to do" she said.

Aspen was torn at what to say. Her motherly instincts said to save the child, but such a display would prove Hope right. That to have such power she had a duty to use it. "Do it" she muttered. Hope walked on her heels to the window, the polish on her toenails still drying. The child bolted from her mother running into the street. A Mini Cooper rounded the curve right into his path. With barely a thought, Hope summoned a blast of strong winds that pushed the boy ever so slightly to just miss being hit. The mother ran and hugged the young boy. "Do you see it now? The absurdity of having to ask when just doing it accomplishes this?" she asked. Hope sat back down to finish her pedicure. "I didn't want to argue with you today. I just wanted a mommy daughter day. You have no idea what it means to have one for me" she muttered.

Aspen saw her daughter very depressed, but she didn't know it was for more than what she thought. Once their salon visit was done, they walked to Trafalgar Square. There, they noticed a young human woman with a tip cup in her hand. On an old rickety table was a male teenage borrower balancing on a tennis ball. Hope at first didn't like the look of it at all as people passed by with little notice of them. "Andrew..." the woman muttered. The young man hopped off the ball. "I know. It's okay. I ate yesterday" he muttered. The woman cried softly. Hope saw there was more to this and probed their minds. "They're lovers" she muttered. "Really?" Aspen asked. "She was kicked out of the house when she told her parents she wanted to marry the borrower that lived in their house" she replied. Hope went and sat down near them. "You two look like a cute couple" she said. "A...a couple?" the young woman asked. "Well it's clear you two love one another" she replied. "Yeah. Not everybody agrees with that" Andrew said. "How long have you two been on the streets?" Hope asked. "...three months" she replied.

Hope scooted closer. "What if I told you I could fix all your problems" she said. They looked at her. "Dead serious here" she said. "How much money are you..."

"Andrew. Listen girl. I'm not going to hand him over because some rich bitch throws some cash around" she said. "Good because that's not what I was going to do Kimberly" Hope said. She was taken aback as she never told her her name. "Do you believe in magic?" she asked. "No" Kimberly replied. "You should. It believes in you. I can use magic to solve your problems. You two can be together, provided for, even start a real family" she said. Both looked at her curiously. "How?" she asked highly skeptical. "Simple. I shrink you Kim" Hope said. "Yep. You're nutters" Kim said sighing. Hope willed the tennis ball to her hand and shrank it to the size of a gumball. "You were saying?" Hope asked. Hope sensed her mother's apprehension. "They're cold and starving" she snapped back. "Well?" she asked. Kim held Andrew up to her eyes. "A family? She can bear my children?" he asked. "Yeah. Your penis would fit snug in her if she was shrunk" Hope said off the cuff. Kim blushed embarrassed. "Yeah. Yeah shrink me" she muttered. "There's a catch. There's always a catch. You can't see your parents again. Seriously, how would you explain your size?" she said.

"Fuck them. They killed his family after all, and they tossed me out like rubbish" she said coldly. Hope put up a spell making sure nobody noticed what came next. With a smile, she shrank the young woman where she sat. Andrew astonished, touched her cheek. "You're so pretty" he muttered. Kim hugged him tightly and cried. "Hate to break up the moment but my mom is waiting on me" the now giantess Hope said. Hope placed them both in her coat pocket and walked back to her mother. Aspen was not too keen on what occurred. "So we can live in that colony?" Kim asked. "Yep" Hope said. "But I'm human" she said. "And you're three inches tall now. You'll fit right in" Hope snickered. Hope held her in her palm. "Don't be afraid" she said as she petted the shrunken woman. Kim felt natural fear being held in the palm of the giantess she knew all of an hour. But as she smiled, she saw a warmth in her eyes. "Let's play a game. A question for a question" Hope said. Kim shrugged. "How did you two meet?" she asked.

Kim went on to explain that Andrew's family lived in her home for years and then one day her parents fumigated the house. Andrew only survived as he was exploring the toy box in the attic and was not exposed to toxic gases. He was only 11 back then and she was 13. She caught him a day later looking for food as he wasn't used to looking by himself. Instead of squashing him...or worse, she took pity on him and kept him safe. A few years passed and they fell in love. Then one night three months ago, his father caught the two of them in an embarrassing position. Kim blurted out she was in love with him and her father being old school didn't approve. Her mother kept silent. Kim learned some of what Hope was. Mostly that she could use magic and there were others that could as well. Other things, such as Etherion and the war with ZODIAC was kept quiet. Aspen's heart softened listing to her story as Hope pointed out it was eerily similar to her and Claire's.     

"So, you guys had an eventful outing" Keith said as he looked over the paperwork admitting two new citizens to the colony. "It certainly was interesting" Aspen said. "Not all humans are bad are they? They can surprise you right Hope?" Keith asked. Hope was busy looking at her phone with a sour look. "Hope. Your father is talking to you" Aspen said. Hope nearly shoved her phone into his hands and walked away. "Shit" Keith muttered. "I'll go say something to her" she said. "Leave...leave her be" he muttered reading the screen. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "Other than a moody overpowered teenage daughter...yeah" he said getting out of his chair in the kitchen and showing Aspen her phone. "Oh my god. This happened last night?" Aspen asked. "...yeah" he replied. Aspen was reading an article from the Miami herald.

"23 borrowers and 4 humans dead from firebomb attack on borrower halfway house. No suspects found" she muttered. "I knew some of them personally. I went by that halfway house earlier this year because Lawan's parents live in Miami. Kids Aspen. Kids burned alive" he muttered as he walked to the sunroom. Aspen followed him. Keith sat quietly at the border where the city began. Aspen took off her shoes and sat beside him. "It's pretty" she said admiring the lights. He silently nodded. "What if she's right Aspen? What if coexistence really is a fantasy?" he asked. "Do you believe that?" she asked. "Look into that window" he said pointing to a dimly lit room on the second story of a house. "That is so precious" Aspen whispered looking in. The eyes of the giantess saw a little girl snugly tucked into her bed. Her nightlight was on and she hugged a toy bear as she slept peacefully. Her teeny little foot stuck out from the covers. Aspen opened her window and very gently moved her foot back onto the bed and pulling the cover over it for the inch-tall borrower girl. "She could grow up, go to college and be somebody in human society. Or, she could grow up, go to college and get eaten by some guy who got mad she wouldn't put out. And who would know?" he asked.

A few people on the street saw them and stopped walking curious as to what could make their beloved protector depressed. "Faith Keith. Faith that things will turn out alright" she said. Two young males approached Aspen's feet. "Faith didn’t save Fiona" he muttered. Aspen moved her giant feet to them and nodded. "I worry about them too. Such a loving people" she said looking at the males licking her giant toes. Keith looked at them. "I'm surprised you let strangers lick your feet" he said. "They mean me no harm, I like the attention, and I'm slowly getting used to borrower culture. Yeah, you're not the only one worried about our people" she said. "Our people?" he said. "Claire took my last name but I really married into HER family. So yes, our people. Get between the toes guys” she replied.

"Magic could catch who did that" he muttered. "And what then? What evidence would you give to the cops? Or you try them yourself?" she asked. Keith was quiet. "You're not wrong when you told her humans have to regulate their own lives" Aspen said. "And she's not wrong when she says magic can help them. She saved three lives today Keith using magic" she said. Keith looked concerned. "Nobody noticed" she said. "What should I say?" he asked. "More flys with honey" she replied. Keith kissed her before getting up. "Nothing about my toenails?" she asked. "Sorry. I was distracted by your inner beauty" he said. Aspen blushed and played with her hair as he walked back into the sunroom. "You're a lucky woman to catch his eye" a borrower woman said near her feet. "He flirts with every girl" Aspen said. "True but he doesn't bear his soul to them. I came looking to see what was taking my husband so long taking out the trash and found him licking your feet. As I PATIENTLY waited (looking at her husband), I overheard your conversation" she said. Aspen smiled slightly as the husband sheepishly walked back to his wife.

"Humans have a saying. For every strong man, behind him is a strong woman. He's a good guy but shoulders so many burdens. Remind him that sometimes a woman's touch is required" she said dragging her husband into the house. "We all should go home, I guess. Don't worry fellas. You can have some more fun with my feet tomorrow" Aspen told the other two men licking her toes.

"What you up to kiddo?" Keith asked seeing a tiny Hope sitting on the bed as she played with the giant tv remote. "Trying to find a movie for us to watch" she replied. Keith sat on the bed. "I know one. You ever see It's a Wonderful Life?" he asked. She shook her head. "It's about a guy who thinks the world is better off without him. An angel gives him a chance to see such a world and finds out the good he's done" he said using the remote to queue the movie. Keith laid back on the bed and placed his daughter on his chest. His steady breathing and heartbeat felt calming to her. "You like my toes dad?" she asked fishing her tiny feet at him. Keith blushed as she had no panties underneath her nightie. He squinted slightly. Hope crawled up to his chin. He could smell her cleanliness and youthful body. She smiled as she tapped her bare foot on his chin. Keith seized her foot and sucked on it making her laugh. She was so precious to him he felt arousal and hid his thoughts.

"I know you'd never hurt me dad. It's okay" she said as she pulled her nightie off. She looked so much like Aspen it was eerie. Hope climbed on top of his lips. Her toes hooking into the sides of his chin. "Tell me you love me" she said. Keith looked confused. "You know I do" he muttered. The sound and breath of his voice tickled her pussy. "I need you to say it. Please...please tell me you love me" she begged. "I love you with all my heart munchkin" Keith said concerned. As his lips parted, Hope pushed her crotch into his mouth. "Even...even when you're angry? When we get into fights? Make you sad?" she asked grinding her pussy on the tip of his tongue. Keith didn't answer as his instinct said to lick and suck on this girl's cunt. However, her questions worried him badly. His finger ran from the top of her head, down her back, to her naked tiny butt. She could feel his love and concern for her. She whimpered pitifully as she came and coated his tongue in her juices. He took her off his mouth for a moment.

"You thought I stopped loving you because you made me angry?" he asked. "I'm worried you'll stop loving me one day" she said softly. "Honey. You're my daughter" he said. Keith bit his finger till it bled. "See this? We are connected not just by this. You, your sister and brothers have a place not in my heart but in my soul" he said. Hope used magic to heat the bite. "I love you too" she said softly. As they watched the movie, Hope wished that night could last for eternity. His earthy scent, his lust tempered with love and concern. She had met many men even if she had only been alive for less than half a year. And even though she used magic to accelerate her rate of learning (which was how she matured so rapidly), she still found her father unique and puzzling. Every young male she met had the same or similar thoughts in their heads. How good her feet would taste. Did she whimper or squeak when she orgasmed. What she would look like pregnant. How tight was her pussy. Sex, lust, rough sex, and being her slave. Yes, the few times she was a giantess among them, some thought of being under her feet, some thought of being snatched from their homes and shoved up her pussy, walking along and becoming a snack for the girl. In their eyes she was royalty. An almighty being of borrower blood that was worthy of worship and sacrifice. It was those that frightened her hence the reason she wasn't human sized much at all among them.

But she found her father to be different. Dark thoughts of sucking on her, even eating her but the shame that came after that that Keith kept bottled up. Hope knew not what to make of it. And then she heard the story of how Claire almost ate her father when she first transformed. How she reveled in sucking on him, how drunk on temptation. So, like any curious person, she looked for the reasons. Borrowers felt emotions deeper than humans and having a size difference strengthened that. They bonded by taste, smell, and touch. And the first time Claire had come back from her first tour back in October, Hope could feel the joy in Thomas. He wanted to drink her breastmilk, suck on her toes, hold her close and breathe her scent. Not because he wanted to fuck her or simply lusted for her body. It was because he missed his offspring so much it hurt. And as Hope laid on his bare chest, her tiny soles rubbing up and down his skin, she understood her father's thoughts.

He felt those feelings, thought those thoughts because her father saw something to be cherished and to eat her would be like keeping something precious away from the cruel cold world. Not that it made logic but one once said "only a fool looks for logic in the heart". "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings" the little girl in the movie said. Hope connected with the movie in a way she nor Keith counted on. How one person was so important. And hearing her giant father's light snoring, her heart became heavy as it was time for her to do what she thought must be done. Hope got off him, grew to human size got dressed, and kissed him goodbye. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Dad. I didn't mean to wake you. I just want to go outside and look at the lights" she muttered. "You father is asleep. I kept quiet about yesterday but your questions and sneaking off with such sad eyes concerned me" Oberon said. "Go back to sleep" she said. "No. You used mind control magic on him, asked odd questions, and now I see you sneaking off WITHOUT your phone. What are you doing?" he asked. "Doing my duty with open eyes" she said. Oberon made his body get up. "You spoke with Markus. That's why you didn't take your phone yesterday. Whatever he said, it was a half-truth at best" he said.

"Every user of Etherion changed the world. I cannot hide from destiny any longer" she said. "Don't do this Hope. I beg of you. This is the King of Fae begging you not to break his heart" Oberon said. Hope sniffled as she shed tears. "Back to sleep. Tell him I'm sorry and I hope he still loves me" she muttered waving her hand. Oberon slipped into the recess of Keith's mind. Not an easy task to forcefully put a spirit to sleep but to her is was nothing. Hope closed the door behind her.

Even at 12:45 in the morning, there was still staff moving about. A guard perched in the windowsill in the foyer, a few maids and butlers finishing the kitchen and living room. A maid in pajamas exiting the tiny door that led to live in maid quarters. "Milady" she said bowing. This giantess just nodded as she walked by. She could hear Rose on the phone with a friend in her room. "Oh absolutely. We'd love for you to say for Christmas break. Naw. If anything, they'll be in awe of a giant African American girl. Well almost all borrowers are white, and I don't get many visitors at all. No, you're the first really. Only thing is they will probably want you to play with them. Well the kids yeah but some adults too. Yeah, I mean that way. Pfft. You'll change your tune when a cute boy is licking your toes. Haha!" Rose laughed as Hope paused at the door. Hope smiled slightly pleased she had made a human friend trustworthy enough to bring over. It didn't deter her through. She felt such harmony and peace should be for all. That humans has to be forced into coexistence for the sake of her species. No problem with humans as friends as long as they abided by a code of decency, respect, and acknowledgement that magical species has to save them from themselves.

"Ma'am. You're not permitted here without your father" a guard said standing at the stairway down to the vault. Of the two guards, one was stern the other nervous. "Sleep" she commanded, and they fell to the floor snoring. She walked down the stairs and stood before the vault. After the first visit of Mirror Susan, Keith changed the security measures. A hand printer retinal scanner wouldn't work if the illusion was good enough. Keypads could be foiled with clairvoyance. Keith had installed a voice print system that unlocked not with his name but with a short song. Hope had seen Susan use it two weeks ago out of curiosity. Hope mimicked Susan's vocal cords in her throat. "I was once but lost but now I'm found. Was blind but now I see" she sang. "Welcome Susan Durmont" the screen said as the iron door unlocked. Hope stepped inside and saw her target. She held the fragment of the Eye in her hands feeling the innate power it had. "This is it. No turning back" she muttered as she formed a translocation gate. She gave a final look of home before stepping through.

"They still have no suspects. They have no idea how it even started" Markus read in a text message. "Good. Meet us in Jakarta" he typed back. "You sure she'll come?" Mirror Susan asked over a text. "I'm sure she saw your handiwork being the news hound she is. And with that specific target I can give a nice fuck you to Keith. Just wish I could see look on his face when he finds out it was his daughter that betrayed him" he replied. "Lol. See you soon" Susan said. Markus erased the texts seconds later and just before Hope arrived in his room. "I knew I could count on you" he said seeing the fragment. "I betrayed my father" she muttered. "You saved him from himself. Humans have a saying. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. We can prove them wrong" he said taking the fragment from her. "Adet" he said. The other two fragments appeared before them and he joined them. The ring pulsed with power not seen in 20,000 years. With a smile, he activated it.

A strange scene was shown in the portal. A rocky desert with tents. "An ISIS training camp in Syria. One of many I'm afraid. He was about to stick his hand through and stopped. "Why don't you do the honors?" he asked. "Do I stick my hand through?" she asked. He nodded. Hope did looking at the overhead view of the camp. In a very remote part of Syria, a giant hand 400 ft. high and 500 ft. long from wrist to index finer appeared above them blotting out the morning sun. They thought it was the hand of God until the fingers curled slightly revealing manicured, pink painted nails. "Begone from this world" she muttered pushing down. There was a deafening roar as it rushed down. Hope felt it slam down on the warm dirt, tents, people, weapons, cars, and dust. All that was there was flattened. The tremor from her gigantic hand could be felt for miles around. And then she lifted it away. Everything compressed flat in a handprint bigger than a high school football field. Hope looked at her hand surprised seeing tiny blotches of red and ant sized bodies smeared into the palm flesh. With little emotion other than a cold smile, she wiped her hand on her pants. "Good girl" he whispered into her ear. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now we wait and prepare for the Great Alignment on New Year’s Eve. Come Hope. It's been a long tiring day for you no doubt and you could use some comfort" he said patting the expensive large bed. Hope took off her clothes and climbed into bed. She laid on the right side of the bed as always as that's where the nightstand where she usually slept was on. But tonight, there was no Keith. No smell of her father, his light snoring, or his hand to keep her body warm. She felt...alone. "You're not alone" Markus said softly as he climbed into bed. He could sense her thoughts. "Rest. Soon we will be in a place that will worship you and respect the power you have. Sun, sand, beach, and all the cute boys and girls you can play with" he smiled. Hope nodded and closed her eyes.