Journal Entry Number One

Ok. So, I just got this journal and have decided to write in it. It is the first thing I have bought with my own money in who-knows-how-long. I have never actually written in a journal before, but my mom said, long ago, that everyone’s story should be remembered. And, seeing as I am starting my new job tomorrow, my story is about to start (or, at least I hope it is).

Lets see... where should I begin? I guess my name is a good place to start.

My name is Clare Omn Rahnrado. I know it is a really funny sounding name, but then again everyone’s name is like that: a plain and normal first name with a really weird last name from the Ancient Language. In the Ancient Language my last name means “Height Shifter”, but it is only my “outer name”. It tells others who I am on the outside. My “inner name” even I don’t know (well, not yet, anyway). The “inner name” tells one’s fate on this world of ours. Everyone has an “inner” and an “outer” name.

Anyway, back to my name. Height Shifter. You must be thinking “what the hell does that mean?”. Well, I was born with the ability to change my size, up or down. Proportionally my body remains the same, but I can differ in overall size. If I put enough energy into it I can become 100 feet tall or 1 inch tall.

Ironically, I am short to begin with. I am 18 years old (so no more growing) and 5 feet tall (I am not really even that, I just call myself 5 feet tall).

I am a blonde shorty with pale-white skin and ugly grey eyes. Some people say they like my eyes, but I am convinced they are all brain-dead from over drinking. I am totally flat (UGH!) and have almost no curve to my body. And I am told I have the chin and shoulders of a man (DOUBLE UGH!!).

Alright. Enough of what I am and on to who.

I consider myself an orphan. My mother died when I was eight. (That is a really awful time for a parent to die. The child is old enough to understand the loss and feel the pain, but not old enough to take care of themselves and move on.) My father hated me because of my ability. I swear his name should have been the Ancient words for “difference hater”.

So he left me to fend for myself, at the age of eight. I could barely control my ability and had no knowledge of the real world.

With nowhere else to go, I joined the army. No, not the standing army. I joined the inner city army. “What is that?” you might ask. It is an orginazation of trained bodyguards and escorts. They, we, serve those of high importance within the country.

I trained with them for 10 years, and starting tomorrow I will be a full time body guard. I can’t wait.

That’s it for my first entry.

Journal Entry Number Two

May 3rd

I know I have said this many times in my lifetime, but I have not written it down in here yet:

I HATE BEING SHORT!!!

I know I can easily change my height so that I am taller than everyone, but it is so tiring to maintain whatever height I choose. It takes lots of energy, will, and desire to change size, but mainly energy. And the higher the percentage of change the more energy is required. I would say that at the moment if I were to grow to 400% of my normal (5') height, I might be able to hold it for twenty minutes before passing out. And even holding the state for 2 minutes would cause me to collapse upon changing back. The strange thing is, that, I don’t feel tired until I have reverted back to normal. I feel fine all while in the state of growth, except when I faint.

Just wanted to put that out there.

Anyway, so I started the day out by getting up early and getting together my pack and belongings. I don’t have much. As I wrote earlier, I don’t go shopping that often. The ICA (inner city army) bought me most of my clothes, weapons, and other necessities. I pack my three extra pairs of clothing, my saved up money (not my everyday pocket money), my picture of my mother and me, and my journal.

I put on my formal ICA uniform, which is too long because I told the tailor I was five feet tall. There is no female uniform, so I totally look like a guy in mine. I tried my hardest to fix my hair, but it was not cooperating, so I was required to soak it before combing it. My hair, as is everyone else’s hair (most people in the ICA are male), must be kept short. And my short hair does not help my feminine looks.

When I was dressed I secured my assortment of daggers within the many hiding places of my uniform. I made sure my Dralim daggers were easily accessed. Dralim, in the Ancient Language, means change. The daggers will change size to fit my needs, so I keep them handy.

When all set I made my way to the mess hall. It was surprisingly lively. One of my best ‘allies’ (we are not supposed to have friendly relationships with anyone at the ICA, so that is what I call them. They are more or less my friends) at the ICA, Marvin, called me over to his table.

"Hey, Marv (when I say this, I drop the ‘r’, so it sounds like Mav). Quite surprising to see you up before the eight o’clock bell. What’s with you?"

I could tell he was barely awake; it was around six when I had got to the mess hall. He was normally a very lively person, which he attributed to his fancy of sleeping until required to get up. He grunted, "could not miss your departure. Don’t even know if I will ever see you again."

I smiled. "You gonna miss me?"

He gave a tired smile in return, although I could see the laughter in his eyes. "It sure as hell will be quieter around here," he snorted. "I can feel the energy draining out of everyone, already."

"Ha. Yeah. At least it will be peaceful." That was Steve, one of my other allies.

"You had better behave while I am gone," I warned Steve. "I will see if I can come visit some time." If the ICA had not taught me to hide my emotions, I would have been crying at that point.

Marv and Steve both caught the hint that it was time for me to go. "See ya," they chorused. They both stood and saluted. I saluted back, then turned to leave. Steve stopped me and put his mornings ration of bread in my hand.

"We have decided to split breakfast this morning. You are going to need all the energy you can get." Marv nodded in agreement.

I thanked them and left without another word. I walked straight to the ‘Major’. His office was above the sleeping barracks. When I arrived he was not there, but an envelope addressed to me was on his desk. I knew he left it there so I could get it without him having to be there.

Opening it, I saw my file and a sheet that told me my assignment.

The sheet stated:

I restored the sheet to the envelope, along with my file, and left.

I reached the ‘Office Building’ in ten minutes. I showed the secretary my file and she told me to wait in the other room and that my client would be there soon.

I walked to the door and was about to exit the room when a tall girl came bursting through. She was not looking ahead of herself because she had been yelling at someone else, and so, she did not notice the ascension in the floor between rooms. I could tell in an instant that she was going to fall and that I was going to be beneath her.

My body acted on its own. I was to late to stop her from falling upon me, but I automatically made my body 300% its normal size, falling back at the same time to cushion the other girls fall. When she started to pick herself up, off my body (which was about 15 tall), she freaked. She had landed on my stomach and the entirety of her body was laying on mine.

Her body froze as she stared at my body beneath her. I could see that she was not going to move, so I excused myself, put my hands around her waist, lifting her slightly. That allowed me to sit up and then eventually stand up (not to full height; more like crouching). I placed her on the ground where she collapsed, knees buckling. I returned to normal, to her relief, and explained that I was born with the ability to do that.

Luckily for me I was wearing my uniform, because otherwise I would not have been wearing clothing after my brief change. My uniform, like my daggers, changed to fit my needs.

The secretary did not seem to be surprised by the going-ons in her office. She walked over to us, the girl and I, and introduced us to each other.

"Lady Summer, this is Agent Clare. She will be your bodyguard for the next year, or so. The two of you will set up your own rules yourself, but these are basis rules that must be followed." She handed Summer a sheet.

Summer gave me a quick looking over before we left. The person she was arguing with was waiting for her outside when we left the building. He advanced on her.

"You know you can’t just walk away from me," he was saying.

"I can and I will," Summer replied coolly. "I don’t want you around. Leave me."

The man lunged. I reacted as I was trained to do. He had been reaching out to grab Summer, so I grabbed hold of his wrist forcing it behind him. He was naturally stronger than I (I really need to work on that), so I grew to seven and a half feet tall.

"Is this man bugging you, milady?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. Do, please, ask him to leave." She was smiling slightly, clearly happy I was there. It felt good knowing she was pleased.

"Sir, I am going to ask you to leave. If you do not, I will force you to."

He stared at me. He looked intimidated, but stubborn. "I will not go. She is mine. I will not give her to the likes of you."

Confused at first, I scrunched my eyebrows together as if it would actually help me translate his words. Then I realized what he meant; he thought I was a guy to whom was stealing the girl he deemed ‘his girl’. Ugh, why am I always mistaken for a guy.

"Please sir. I will not ask again. As her bodyguard I will not allow you to stay."

His mouth dropped open. "You got a bodyguard just to keep me away?"

Summer laughed out loud. "Of course not. I have been wanting a bodyguard for a long time now and you just got unlucky in that this is her first day."

Summer and I caught each other’s eyes, sharing an internal laugh. "It seems he does not wish to leave, Clare. Do you mind escorting him to the police?"

Catching the hint, I doubled my size. I grabbed him by the shoulders and was about to lift when he gave out a squeak. "Ok, ok. I am leaving. No need to go to the police."

I let him go, allowing him to stalk off. I swear I heard him utter something about ‘coming back’. I returned to normal and felt my eyelids droop and my knees shake.

Summer smiled at me. "Thanks for that." I finally got a good look at her. She is tall, around 5'10". She has long wavy auburn hair, which she wears up in a bun that I don’t have a name for. She has lovely blue-green eyes. She has curves galore and good sized breasts. More, or less, she is everything I am not.

We got a ride in a carriage to her house (when I say house I really mean like a castle. The place is huge). I was given a tour and then we discussed the terms of my contract.

By the end of the day we had agreed and signed on the terms. The contract looked like this:

When that was over we set up my bunk and went to sleep.

And that concludes my second entry.

Third Journal Entry

May 20th

List of things I have found out:

•     Summer is just younger than me. She is about seventeen and three quarters.
•     She has been home schooled for all of her life by private tutors.
•     She is going to start going to public school when she is eighteen. What is that school called? I believe she said it was called a "university". Oh, and I am going to have to guard her while she attends school. It will be so embarrassing.
•     Summer is, like, half royalty. Yeah, half. Her mother is the half sister of the king. That makes her the half-niece of the king.
•     That guy she was fighting with, his name is Brett. The two of them had been "going-out" (although Summer has not explained what that term means yet) until just recently. I am assuming that means that they were really close. I will try to get one of the maids to explain it.
•     Oh, yeah. Summer has a whole staff of maids, cooks, servants, tutors, secretaries, and other such personnel. And I mean lots of them. They all seem pretty nice. But there was one maid, a "personal" maid (well, technically the personal maid), that I did not like. And for good reason. It turned out that she was hired to spy on Summer for Brett. I ended up replacing her. So now, not only do I guard Summer, but I dress, bathe, and otherwise attend to her.

Not much has happened in the last two-and-a-half weeks in terms of threats. But Summer and I have had a few out of the ordinary experiences. She now seems to like the fact that I can change size. (She has me practice every night before sleep to further the time that I can maintain my different size.)

After I became her maid, and therefore am required to bath her, she has twice had me do it in a different size. Once large, once small. I guess those are the only two experiences worth telling about. So I will tell you those stories.

Large:

So it was the second day on "maid duty". She had told me that we (meaning her) were going to take a bath. I asked if I should change clothes, seeing I was in my ICA uniform, but she quickly responded no. I did not think much of it at the time.

We entered the bath, where she had me remove her clothes. Man does she have a wonderful body. I can’t explain the feeling I get when I see it; it must be extreme jealously.

Anyway, so the bath (which is like a monster pool that just happens to be shallow) was already prepared. Bubbles were everywhere. I am so glad I am on guard duty and not cleaning duty. Yikes.

She told me to roll up my sleeves and pant legs, which I did. And then she walked to the center of the pool before turning to face me.

"Now grow," she instructed.

I wish I could see my own face after she said that. It was probably priceless. I did not move for what seemed like minutes. She had to say it again before I snapped out of my trance.

"W-what?" I stammered.

"I would like you to grow nice and big for when you wash me. Grow to about thirty feet tall. Don’t worry, the ceilings are plenty high."

"But..."

"Please," she pleaded. "I really want to know what it feels like to be washed by giant hands. I trust you not to harm me."

Although she was pleading her eyes told me she was dead serious and not going to give in. I complied. Thirty feet is not that difficult to achieve, but maintaining it is another matter. Since I came to her service I have gotten better, but I did not think I could hold it for longer than 10 min.

She was right about the ceilings; I did fit. Walking into the water, I realized it only came up to my ankles. My pant legs were rolled up passed my knees, so I kneeled down in front of her.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Lady Summer?" I asked one last time. She nodded.

At that time my hand was about as long as two thirds of her height. I reached to the edge of the pool for a towel, soaking it into the sudsy water. I used my left hand to brace her back, cupping it into my palm. Then I started with washing her arms. Wrapping the towel around the tips of my fingers, I rubbed softly over the length of each arm. When finished, I moved onto her back.

After a while my own back started cramping, so I asked, "Lady Summer, may I lift you into the air?"

She gave a quick nod. I straightened my back, lifting her gently into the air. She was not heavy at all. I had her lay in my palm while I washed her legs as I had done her arms. When all done with her limbs, I asked what she wanted me to do about her privates. I could not find the words, so when I asked I just kinda pointed. She giggled. "That is part of washing me."

I tried to be inconspicious about my gulp, but that is not an easy task when you are a giantess. She burst out laughing, almost causing me to drop her. "Just kidding," she said, still laughing.

I gave a huge sigh of relief before placing her in the water, and exiting the bath. I fainted before I had a chance to change back to normal, and woke up the next morning with Summer sitting by me.

Before leaving me to rest, Summer whispered in my ear. "That was quite the lovely experience. We should do it again some time." Then she left.

Small:

I think it was three days after the giant bathing that Summer found out I could also shrink. So when we went to bath, she gave me a menacing grin. "What?" I could not help asking.

"You know how I had you washed me as a giantess? Well today we are going to swap roles. You are going to shrink to wash me."

I had already suspected that I was going to be subjected to that, but it took me by surprise nonetheless.

"How small can you go?"

"I might be able to pull off a little under a foot for ten minutes," was my response.

"Can you try going smaller?"

"I guess I could try." I knew I was digging my self a hole that I soon would not be able to get out of. But what was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to refuse Summer’s wishes?

When we started the bathing process, I undressed Summer like before, and then instead of going into the bath water, we made our way over to the massaging table. (Yes, Summer has a massaging table).

I shrank down to about six inches in height. The view was out of this world. Imagine the perfect girl, times ten. Oh and then she is naked.

Summer picked me up so that I sat in her palm. Then she laid down on the massage table, stomach down. The table was long enough that I could stand on the end of it with plenty of room.

Summer placed me in front of her chin, which was resting upon her arms.

She took a bottle of body wash and squirted it all over herself. "Your job is to rub it in, and then I will rinse it off. Piece of cake, right?"

"Yeah, right."

I climbed onto her elbow and then started the ascent to her shoulder. I swear I slipped twenty times. When I finally reached her shoulder I was greeted with a view of her vast back... just before slipping down into the small of it. There I started scrubbing with all of my might.

Lucky for me Summer did not actually expect me to entirely wash her. She knew she only had a maximum of ten minutes. After a few she turned over and had me scrub her stomach.

It is the strangest feeling being dwarfed by a pair of breasts. I don’t have words to describe the feeling. I will leave it up to your imagination.

Summer had just barely placed me on the floor when I fainted. I woke up the next day with her, once again, sitting on my bed, watching over me.

"So which do you like better?" I asked, truly curious.

"I like you big." She had said that with such a thoughtful expression. I wonder what she was thinking at the time.

So that concludes my first two and a half weeks summary.

Journal Entry Number Four

June 16th

The past few weeks have seen my life fall into a routine of sorts. Summer does not leave the house much, because her parents don’t allow it. So of course that means I am also stuck, cooped up in the house. We only ever leave the house to go to appointments, meaning we still aren’t doing anything.

That was until today. Summer, it seems, had also become sick of confinement. She had woke me up early. "Wake up, Clare. We are going out."

I sat up, trying to blink the sleep from my eyes. "Milady. Is something the matter?"

She shook her head. "We are just going out for today."

Knowing she had something planned, I sighed. "Whatever you say."

I started changing into my uniform until Summer stopped me. "Oh. You are not wearing that today. I have something special for you to put on." With that she grabbed my hand, dragging me to the closet. From within it she retrieved a tunic and a pair of trousers. She handed me both. "These are for you. Go ahead and put them on."

When they were on I realized that they fit perfectly. She had them made just for me (meaning, like my uniform, they could change size). But, of course she got my measurements from the ICA, so they came out quite masculine. The tunic is a pure black cotton based garment that snugly fit the shape of my torso and chest. The sleeves were cut short at the shoulders. The trousers reached to my heel, so when I put on the leather boots, to which she also had made for me, the legs stopped just before the sole of the boot. The trousers were made of a weird blue material (Summer later explained that it was tightly woven cotton. She called it denim.) Supposedly it was the new ‘thing’ to wear. All I cared was that it was flexible enough to run it, or to maneuver about.

When all said and done, I looked like a guy. AGAIN.

When she was done getting me ready, Summer got dressed herself, so, without my help. She also wore a pairs of denim trousers, except that hers were tight and fit her curve nicely. She wore a black cotton blouse that showed a fair amount of neck and chest.

It is quite frustrating knowing that I will never look like that. Elegant, and yet bold. Beautiful. Perfect. I will never be any of these things.

I wonder what she looks like in a dress. Hmm... I am officially putting that on my list of things to see.

Back to today. I looked away from her, my face feeling hot. "Where are we going, Milady?"

"I’ll tell you when we get there. And for today please just call me Summer."

I raised my eyebrow slightly but did not question the request. "Sure thing."

She must have noticed my hesitation because she said, "Say it."

"Of course... Summer."

"Good. Now lets get going before anyone else wakes up."

We left. It was an easy escape. There were no guards we had to get by, so all we had to do was leave early, which we did.

We started out the day by going to breakfast. While there Summer explained that she had wanted to get out of the house, but her parents would not let her, for which was the reason for the sneaking.

Throughout the day we did many things; we went to the theater, to a park, to lunch, and then to an evening fair. The play at the theater was interesting; it was about a romance that was forbidden due to class difference and how the two overcame that boundary. The park was nice, but we did not do much. Lunch, like the park, was nice, but nothing exciting happened. On the other hand, the fair was quite eventful.

In the beginning we just walked around, looking at the stands that displayed many trinkets and other things. It was crowded and Summer said she did not want to get separated from me, so we held hands while walking about.

We walked by many different attractions. There were food stands, throwing rocks at milk bottle stands, ride the horse stands, look at all the cute animal stands, trinket stands, jewelry stands, stands where you watch people do tricks like eating fire, and many others. Towards the center of the fair was a giant stage. Summer wanted to know what was going on at the stage, so we made our way to it. Upon arriving, we were bombarded by the stage manager.

"Hey. You two look like a fine couple. Why don’t you guys join the couples contest?"

I did not really understand what he was referring to when he said "couples contest", so I had him explain.

"Well, its when a pair," he pointed to us, "compete to show that they are the best couple here."

Ugh. Yet another person thought I was a guy. Do I really look that much like a guy?

"I will have you know that I am not a–," Summer’s hand whipped out to cover my mouth, stopping me before I could finish what I was saying. She bent down slightly to whisper in my ear.

"Why don’t you play a different role for tonight? I would really love it if you would." I stared at her. Her eyes were pleading. Why? I did not yet know.

"If that is what you wish. So be it. We will enter the contest."

"Great. Sign in is to the right of the stage. Good luck."

We signed in, and the whole time I could not get a word out of Summer. We were finally called to the dressing rooms, where the contest was explained.

"Listen up! The contest will consist of three parts; the introduction, the show, and the proclamation.

The intro is when you walk out holding hands so that everyone can see your face and know who you are paired with. The show is where you put on a show; something you can do together, like singing, dancing, or whatever. And the proclamation is where you show the crowd how much you care about one another. Do you understand?"

Everyone chorused "yes", except me. I did not understand at all why I was doing this.

Summer and I were give the group number 6, which meant we had more time to prepare. Well at least for the second two parts. We were whisked off to our own changing room where five different people started redressing us, or well, handing us clothes to put on and then tidying us up. I got placed in a fancy black suit with gold tassels. I must admit, I looked pretty spiffy. Somehow those people got my hair in order. When they were done with me, they sent me to see Summer.

I don’t really know how to put this. She was stunning. She wore a lovely pink dress that complimented her curves perfectly. The hem puffed out slightly, while the bodice frilled about her chest. I must have gasped, because she giggled. "Um... you look lovely, Milady- excuse me, Summer."

"Well you look dashing. How did you pull that off?"

"I had a little help." I nodded toward the five stylists. "Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t know if I can pull it off."

"Oh come on. You can do almost anything. Was that not what you were trained to do down at ICA. You were taught how to be the perfect bodyguard, and at the same time the perfect man." I could see the mischievous look in her eyes. She was absolutely dead serious about going through with the contest. Why? I still did not know.

"Can you dance?"

"Sure. My mother taught me as a kid. I know how to dance a waltz, a foxtrot, and a swing."

Figures. She of course knew many dances I did not, but at least I know how to waltz, so it worked out. "Ok. We can waltz for the second part. What was it called? The "show"?"

"Ok, Seth. Sounds good."

"Seth?"

"Yeah. For tonight you are Seth. Or, at least for the contest."

At that moment we were called out to the back stage to prepare. And then minutes later we were stepping out onto the stage with nine other pairs.

Looking at the other pairs, it was hilarious. We were the only pair where the male (cough) was shorter than the female. And I could not become taller because I was not in the right clothes.

The announcer called off groups and when each was called they would step forward and bow or curtsy.

"GROUP #6. SETH AND SUMMER!"

We stepped forward. The crowd seemed to like us. Maybe because we were the mismatched pair. A few cheered openly, telling us we could "do it".

Then the "show" began. Summer and I practiced waltzing together while the first 5 pairs "showed their stuff"(that’s what Summer called it). Surprisingly, we flowed well together. We were smooth and I did just fine leading. Our only problem was me getting my hand high enough for her to spin.

In the end we simply switched roles for the spin. I was the one who spun under her arm, which the crowd seemed to love.

After that was mostly a blur. We had set up a skit for the proclamation. I don’t remember any of it. All I remember is when Summer fell into my arms and kissed me on the lips.

Everything stopped. The crown disappeared, sounds faded, and all I could focus on was Summer. She pulled away. My body moved on its own locking my lips with hers once again. My hand slipped up behind her head, while hers pressed against my cheek.

When we finally broke apart my senses were just coming back. I turned to see the crowd cheering wildly. There was whistling and clapping. In this case I am glad I could not see my face; I was probably bright red.

And then everything was a blur again. I could not think about anything other then the kiss. We did not win, but instead came in second. And there was no consolation prize. Figures.

When Summer and I were back in our clothes we walked toward her house. Half way there we were alone on the road. She turned to face me.

"I love you," she blurted out. That was all she said.

I dumbly asked, "but why?"

"Because I feel that you understand me and that we fit well together. I can’t explain it, really. I just love you. You make me feel safe." She began to cry and collapsed on the ground.

"Shh, shh. Its ok. I love you, too."

Not really knowing how to comfort her, I grew to twenty feet tall and cradled her in my arms, hugging her tightly to my chest. She grasped my tunic and continued to cry, but softer; she was calming down.

We sat there for a while, silent. Then she asked, "do you really love me?"

I never got the chance to answer. Men surrounded us, shouting at me, telling me I had to get away from Summer. They turned out to be the police, who had been out looking for her all day. Her parents had gotten worried.

I shrunk back to normal and stepped away from Summer, not wanting to get in to much trouble. I was hit in the back of the head. It is to be expected. Had I put up a fight they never would have knocked me out. But I didn't, so they did.

That is all I remember of today, other than the fact that somehow Summer got my journal to me. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings (yeah, right).

June 27th

When one crosses the border of our country (Burtintuf) heading west, they find themselves in a thick forest. The forest is infested with all kinds of beasts and monsters, whom, if encountered, will kill without thought. Those woods are rarely escaped once entered. After the forest, which stretches for miles and miles (nobody knows exactly how far), there is a scorching desert, with blistering heat and nonstop winds that range from 60 to 100 mph, more often than not. The visibility is awful, which actually worked to our advantage (I will explain in a second). And then finally after making it through the desert one will be in the lovely country of Ehlmrick (to which I have never been to). That was the path we took. Fun, right?

Summer and I knew we did not have long before people would follow us, with orders from the prince to bring Summer back to him. And also to bring me back dead or alive. So since Summer's home was so close to the western border, we had no choice but to head in that direction. If we were to try a different way, we would have had to go through the country, which would have raised the risk of getting caught. I knew the people going after us would not risk going into the forest.

Even before entering it, the forest is an eerie place. Summer and I stood before it, just staring. A shiver ran down my spine. I swear you can feel the aura of the creatures within. Then Summer spoke. “you really want to do this?”

“Of course. We can't go back now. We have to do this.”

She gave me a sidelong glance and a tiny smirk. “Well at least I have you to protect me.”

“And protect you I will.” And with that I led the way into the forest.

Our walk was undisturbed for all of the beginning. We had maybe gotten a mile in when the ground dropped. And yet, even though the forest floor was getting lower, the tops of the trees were always at the same point. They were getting taller, and bigger. Soon the trees were so big that I felt as if I had shrunk to only a foot tall. And that meant that the creatures that lived there were bigger than I had imagined, as well. (Always a lovely thing to find out midway through a journey.)

We continued in a more or less straight line. The further we got, the darker it got. And then we started hearing rustling noises in the distance. Each time there was a noise we would freeze for what was probably about fifteen to twenty minutes. Summer was becoming paranoid (not that I blame her).

I became careless. I was always looking for something that would pop out at us and stopped paying attention to our surroundings. I did not see the big divot in the ground. As I stepped in it my knee locked and I lost my balance. I put my arm out to protect myself from the fall, but I smacked it against a fairly massive rock. My skin did not break but it felt like there was something wrong with the bone. I figured it was a fracture.

The noise that accompanied my fall brought creatures attention to us. The next thing we knew there was what looked like a giant red and yellow lizard with quills all over. Summer gasped. “That is a replargon lizard. I have read about them. Their quills are covered in poison, which the littlest amount could kill an elephant.”

“Well then I suggest we run.” We turned to do so, but more of the creatures were coming out of the trees. We were surrounded.

“Climb that tree. They can't climb, so we should be safe.” And so we did. We climbed the closest tree, just in time to see the creatures reach the base of it. “We still need to go higher. Although they can not climb they can jump very high.”

When we finally stopped climbing we were about fifty feet up. The creatures were quite persistent in their attempts to reach us. We sat on a branch way up in the tree for a half hour. None of the creatures left. They were always watching us, waiting for us to come down.

And then an idea hit me. “We could probably make it from tree to tree across these branches. We would be able to continue through this forest, and hopefully out.”

“I guess it is worth a try,” Summer agreed. The trees were close enough together that it was possible. We started moving slowly from tree to tree. The creatures followed, but seeing as we never got any lower, they could still not reach us.

Although our pace was slow, we did make progress through out the day. Well that is until the branch Summer was standing on broke. I was close enough to grab her arm. I did, and at the same time grabbed the tree as to anchor myself to it. But the instant Summer's full weight was on me I realized my arm was not going to hold for long.

The pain was beyond anything I had ever felt. I have been beaten or in fights, and still it did not compare. It felt like the bone was being pulled in half. And even worse, I knew that if I did not relieve the stress it would be. So I had two options. Either I drop Summer or I grew and broke the branch I was standing on, due to increase in weight. Neither a good option.

But so my mind instantly was back on the idea of saving Summer. I did not care what happened to me. Our eyes met for a second and I knew she saw inn them what I was going to do.

She screamed at me. “No. Don't do it. NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!” Even though I knew the instant I hit the ground the lizards would be on me, I had already made up my mind.

But then Summer's eye glowed blue. And in an instant the weight was removed from my arm. Summer had disappeared. I realized I was still gripping something and looked in my hand.

Sitting on my open palm was a naked Summer. I swear I almost fell off the branch from shock. “Wait. Summer, what is going on?”

She smiled up at me. “Unshrink me and I will tell you.”

“What!?”

“You think I did this? No, this is your skill, not mine.”

“How could it be mine? I did not do this to you.”

“Of course you did. As I said before I have no skill in height change. You have to will me bigger. That is what you do in order to change your height, right?”

“Yeah, but I have never done it to anyone else.” She gave me an annoyed look. “OK. I guess I technically did it to you, if you are in fact correct. Alright. Let me give it a try.”

I concentrated on making her bigger. And before long she was growing in my hand. Before she got to big, I placed her on the branch and sat down beside her. I continued while holding her hand, for support.

When I was done she grinned broadly. “See. I told you you could do it.”

“Yes, alright. So I did it. Now explain what happened. And why are you naked?”

She blushed at my question. “Um... well, my clothes don't change sizes like yours, so they are down there.” She pointed to the ground. Kicking myself for asking such a silly question, I looked down at the ground. Sure enough there they were.

“Um... this bark is a little uncomfortable on my bare skin. Do you mind shrinking me a bit and just holding me or something? Then I will explain everything.”

“Oh. OK.” Grabbing her hands, I started the shrinking process. When she was back in my palm I grabbed a handkerchief that I had in my pocket. I draped it over her shoulders, and she rapped it around herself.

“OK. Where to start? I have two last names. Outer ones, I mean. One is Coltaire which literally translates to control, and the other is Keuyf, which translates to key, or unlock. So more or less, I can control peoples skills through them, and also unlock their potential. So in your case, I made you shrink when we faced Donald and then I just unlocked your potential, a bit, at least. I guess your height shifting is not confined to just your body.”

All of this info was stunning. “That is so cool,” I breathed. She grinned again. “I guess that might come in handy later.”

“OK. OK. Enough talk. We need to get going.”

I stood. “Well, you can't walk like that, so I guess I am just going to have to carry you.”

“Whatever. But one last question. How is your arm?”

I had totally forgotten it until just that moment. The pain came rushing back. “I had not realized it was that bad when I had done it. Catching you made it worse. But I can live with it. Once we get to a city I can get it healed.”

Summer rolled her eyes. “You don't have to act for my sake.”

“Don't worry. I would not do such a thing. Besides it would not work if I tried.”

I started to walk again. Surprisingly we were out of the forest only a few hours later. The lizards had not followed. And as I jumped down from the trees we were greeted by a lovely view of the sandy air of the desert. The sand reached hundreds of feet up in the air.

“Do you by any chance know how wide the desert is?” I asked Summer.

“I believe it is two miles wide.”

I did a few calculations in my head and determined that if I grew to fifty feet tall I could make it through in a matter of minutes. And if I calculated for having to not be seen I would just shrink before we exited. And so that is what we did. Summer had to stay small because if she didn't she would have walked into the village naked. We bought her clothes there.

There was no healer so we are continuing to the nearest big city, which is called Freta.

July 6th

After a seven day walk, we finally reached Freta. We used a gold piece to buy ourselves a few months rent. It is not a shabby place. Quite decent, actually. Two bed rooms (not that we need them both), a kitchen, a sitting room, and a dining room. Has a cozy feel to it. I don't know exactly how long we will be living here.

At the time of our arrival and into the next day my arm was still not doing well. Meaning I still needed to go to a healer. The pain was tolerable but any stress made it worse. So on the evening of the 4th we stopped by the healing center.

We were checked in and told to sit and wait. Finally a woman in her mid twenties called us to her office.

She is one of those people you could pick out of a crowd. She had strikingly blue eyes. And they were not the normal blue; they were a dark blue.

“Alright, little lady, you can sit on the bed.”

(Oh. I forgot to mention that to avoid suspicion and and those who might be searching for me, I am now acting as Summer's 11 year old cousin/servant. We have yet to agree upon which. I am now under four feet tall.)

“You may sit next to her, miss.” The woman was addressing Summer. She sat next to me and I had to strain my neck to look at her face which was feet above my own.

“So what is your relationship?” Summer must have given her a questioning look because she clarified, saying, “Oh, you are just new faces for me. I just wanted to know a bit about you.”

“Well, we are cousins.” I glared at her from where I sat, but only for a second. I did not want the woman to notice.

“Oh, and can you tell me what happened? To her arm, I mean.”

Somewhat forgetting my role as a child, I butted in. “I fell, hitting it against a rock, and then lifted something heavy.”

She bent down next to me, gently taking my arm in her hands and examining it. “That must have been something really heavy for it to do so much damage.” Summer stiffened next to me. With my free hand I grasped hers, squeezing slightly, trying to convey that it was not her fault and that I did not blame her. The woman took it all the wrong way; she thought I was scared, which worked for me.

“Don't worry. I will have you fixed up in no time.” I gave her my best attempt at a weak smile.

She rolled up her sleeves and then grasped my arm. The air around my arm glowed green, and the pain in my arm began to fade. When she was done my arm felt stronger and the pain was all gone.

“See. All better.” She turned to address Summer again. “Her bones are really mature for her age. They are more like the bones of a young adult.”

Summer and I both stiffened at that. “Oh. It is not a bad thing. It just means she won't grow much more.” Oh, the irony.

Summer recovered first. “Oh ok.”

“I would like to have you come by once a week for the next six weeks. It is just sa that I can check to make sure the bone I still good. The first will be tomorrow.”

Summer nodded.

“The name is Lyn. Just ask for me when you come by.”

“Ok. Well my name is Tara. See you tomorrow.” I waved enthusiastically as we left.

When we were home Summer knelt in front of me and gave me that “what are you playing at” look. “Tara?”

“Well, yeah. If you were to run into someone we know, wouldn't it be strange for you to be living with a little girl who happens to have the same name as your bodyguard?”

She sighed. “I guess you are right.”

I grinned as she invited me to bed. “Of course I am right. One of us has to be.”

“Well Tara, lets go. I am tired.”

I hurried into a pair of very baggy sleeping clothes. I could not stay as 'Tara' the whole night and so I wore clothes that were fine for my normal size.

I jumped into bed and snuggled up next to Summer.

The next day I visited Lyn again. She said my bones were fine. I will visit her five more times to make sure but I should be alright.

Journal entry number 8

August 11th

it has been a while since I have wrote (note the date).

Not much has happened. I went to see Lyn those five times. My arm is fine now. I am back to practicing with my daggers and a bit of hand to hand combat. But that is not very exciting. People came to take Summer away and failed. And I went in search of a birthday present for her.

So on July 15th, Summer and I were out shopping in the market when a group of Burtintuf soldiers, clad in our countries lovely colors, came to take her home. I was ahead of her when they stopped her, so I just continued walking without noticing. When I did notice I turned to find her arguing with four of them.

I could not hear the conversation, but Summer filled me in on what was said. They had come demanding that she return, to which she responded with a curt “no” and tried to walk away. The soldiers persisted, asking, “What about your bodyguard? Where is she?”

“I have not seen Clare in weeks. Now if you would please excuse me.” That was when I arrived on scene.

“Lady Summer, can we go home now?” I asked never showing my face to the soldiers.

“Of course, Tara.” She curtsied to the soldiers and I tried to mimic her.

“Lady Summer!” one of the soldiers said forcefully. “If you do not come with us, we will take you back.”

“You shall do no such thing. I am not a criminal and I out rank you. You have no authority here and so I shall not obey. Nor does Prince Donald or whoever it is that wants me home. Now good day.” Summer had become stern. It was hard to argue with her when she got like that. (Although I never argue with her so I would not really know). The soldiers flinched.

I started pulling her away as a child might. The soldiers just stood dumbly, watching us leave. When we were out of sight and ear shot, I broke down laughing.

“What are you laughing about? It is not funny to have to talk to them.”

“Well, when four trained soldiers are scared of a seventeen year old girl and a child, not that I had any part in all that, I would call that funny. I mean, did you see their faces. I bet they wet themselves.” Summer gave me a playful scowl. “Oh come on. You have to think it was a little funny.”

She only ruffled my hair in response.

In the following weeks the soldiers talked to her often and each time they failed in their duty to bring her home.

Summers birthday is on the 27th of August, and so, I got her a gift. She seems bored of life with commoners. Not that she looks down on them or any thing like that, she just is educated to a much higher level then them. So I left the city of Freta, for four days, to visit the city of Silmonta. There I visited the University in which is the city's main attraction.

I set up a meeting with Renee, the Dean of the University. If I wanted to get Summer into the school, which I did, she was who I needed to see.

When I entered her office, she was surprised by my age (cough).

“Oh my. When they said that I had a meeting today, they did not say it was with someone so... young.” She looked annoyed.

I bowed deeply (I am really bad at curtsying). “My apologies for the misunderstanding. I was in no way trying to deceive you. I will not waste your time, I promise.”

“I apologize for my rude behavior just now. What can I do for you?”

“I am here on behalf of my mistress. She wishes to attend your school.” I pulled out a resume that I had put together for her. “She has studied under...” I listed off about twenty names, all of which I assumed were top notch. The Dean looked surprised.

“That is quite the list of teachers. I personally know many of them. May I ask who is your mistress?”

“Of course. Lady Summer is the niece of Burtintuf's king.”

The Dean's expression hardened again. “Why would she want to go to our school?”

“Lady Summer has been living in your country all summer. She wants nothing to do with Burtintuf.”

“I see. Well, it is not like I can deny her entrance. She is plenty capable by the sound of it.”

I bowed again. “On her behalf, I thank you.”

The Dean walked around her desk to stand in front of me. She handed me the papers she had been holding. “Have her sign these, and return them on the first of September. Now, if you will excuse me.” She walked around me, opening the door so that I could leave.

“One more thing before I go.” She rolled her eyes, thinking I would not see, or understand.

“What is it?”

“Well, I can not be following Lady Summer around all day while she is studying.” The Dean nodded in agreement. “I was wondering if you had a job opening at the school that I could fill. Maybe as a maid in the rooms or a servant in the kitchens or in the halls or where ever. I could work with really low pay if that is a problem.”

She sighed. “Sure. I will get you a job as a body servant. You will be assigned to a group four girls who are rooming together. I will make sure Lady Summer is among them.

My heart skipped a beat. It was perfect. “Thank you so very much.”

“Yes. Yes. Be here tomorrow for job training.”

Training was simple enough. I needed to know how to address people, how to act, how to dress the girls in their school uniforms, what my schedule would be, and a few other things. A lot of it I already knew from being Summer's maid prior to this.

I was given a uniform, and was very lucky that they thought I was still growing, because they gave me ones that would grow with me.

Then I made my way back to Summer. When she asked me where I had been, I told her it was a surprise.

August 28th

Yesterday was Summer's birthday!

I woke up early to make her breakfast. I made the only breakfast I knew how to make: eggs in a pan, with sausage and cheese, and a bit of bread on the side. Fortunately Summer was able to understand that I had put my heart into it. She ate it and looked pleased.

Then it was gift time. I handed her the papers that needed signing. She looked over it carefully. “What is this, Clare?”

“Well, that time I went away for four days, I went to hand in your resume to a university.”

“But why?”

She was sitting on our couch, so I climbed up onto her lap (I was in Tara mode). I rested my head against her chest. “I know you are utterly bored with the everyday person. You need to be around those who are just as sophisticated as yourself.”

She wrapped her arms around my mid section. “But what will I do with you?”

“Don't worry. I will be around.”

She sighed. “If you say so. Thank you for this.”

“No problem. I have one more gift for you.” She gave me a “give it here” look. “Just for today, I am all yours. And I don't mean in the normal way. Today I will do whatever you want me to.”

Summer's eyes twinkled, and I could almost see the wheels turning in her head. “Whatever I want?”

“Yes, whatever.”

Summer rested her chin on my shoulder so that her lips were right next to my ear. “Do you trust me?” she asked in a whisper. I gulped, but nodded. “Then don't blink.”

And with that I was four inches tall, sitting in the crevasse between her mammoth legs. She plucked me out, placing me on her palm.

My heart dropped into my stomach when she stood up. “Hold on tight,” she giggled as I scrambled to wrap myself around her thumb, which stood erect.

“Summer, slow down!” I screamed. She did not hear, and kept right on walking to the bedroom we shared.

When she arrived, she got up onto the bed, where she sat down cross-legged. She addressed me as I tried to catch my breath. “Okay, Clare. We are going to play a game. But I want you to be totally serious. Can you do that for me?”

I nodded. “Good. I am going to lay down, and your job is to point out your favorite part of my body. And you have to touch it, you can't just point from afar. You got it?”

I nodded again. My heart began to beat a bit faster. Summer placed me so that I was straddling her left shin, close to her ankle. Then she lay perched up on her elbows. “You may begin.”

I carefully stood up. Balance was harder to achieve than I had imagined. While trying to stay still for me, Summer had stiffened her muscles, causing random, uncontrollable jerks here and there. Eventually I got over her knee and onto her thigh, which was like a stroll in the park by comparison. From there I easily reached her waist, where I had a choice.

Over or under?

I glanced up at Summer. She had a puzzled look. “Why did you stop?”

I grinned mischievously before ducking under her shirt. She squeaked and almost jumped upright. “Clare, what are you–” She squeaked again because I had reached her chest. She was still in her sleeping clothes, and thus did not have her breast band on. So when a place my bare hand on her breasts to brace myself, a shiver ran through her body (which I felt); I guess my hands were cold. Without her breast band on it was quite easy to walk right in between her giant mounds of flesh.

And then I was out. I looked up to find her watching me intently. “Do you mind laying all the way down?” I asked. She nodded and laid down. So I walked over her neck and climbed her chin, so that I stood on her face. I carefully walked over her lips, skirted around her nose, and climbed over her eyes, finally coming to a halt on her forehead, where I sat down.

“This,” I patted her forehead with my tiny hand, “is my favorite part of your body. Your mind. What makes you you.”

She smiled. “My mind likes you, too.”

I walked back over her eyes and stood so that her nose was between my legs and I faced her eyes. I could not help but laugh as her eyes tried to focus on my face. “So what is your second favorite part of my body?” she asked.

It took me a second or two to come up with my answer, but when I did I climbed back down onto her chest. This time I went over her shirt and stopped with my hand planted firmly on her left breast.

“You love my boobs?” I could tell she was trying hard not to crack up.

“Well, it is not that I don't, but I prefer what is beneath them, which is your heart.”

“My heart is yours, so of course it loves you.” That was something to smile about. “Okay, one last time.”

More thought required. I sat down and leaned against her breast, rising and falling with her chest. I sat there for a few minutes, running through a mental list of body parts. Finally I made my way back onto her chin.

I sighed. “Your lips. They express your opinions and they taste good.”

She giggled and I don't think she could help it. It was a cheesy line despite my best effort to say it straight faced.

“I must say, that was unexpected. Um... my lips love you, too, and they think you are tasty.” That is what you would call an “oh sh*t” moment. "Mind if I have a taste?" I had gotten myself backed into a corner, with no way out.

“Well, I am yours for the day... so, what do you want? An arm or a leg?”

A grin spread over her lips. “Let's go with an arm, shall we.”

I sighed, gulped, and knelt down on her chin, rolling my sleeve up to my shoulder. I positioned my arm so that my hand rested on her upper lip.

Her lips spread and I was confronted with her warm breath. Lips clamped tightly on my hand, she sucked inward causing my arm to be pulled further and further into her mouth. Her tongue press lightly on my hand. Although they never came near my arm, I could feel her teeth's presence.

I was about to say something, due to sheer discomfort, when I felt her begin to sit up. Her thumb wrapped around my midsection and the rest of her fingers my back and legs. She pulled slowly, sucking on my arm the whole way. When I was out, I was sitting on her pinky, resting my back against her other fingers, and with my arms hanging over her thumb. She was smiling at me. “Very tasty,” she cooed.

I swear I did not realize until that point that I was scared out of my mind. And the fear came in an overwhelming burst that shook me to my core. I had started shaking immensely and I wet myself right on Summer's pinky (at least it was not while I was on her chin). Tears welled in my eyes and before I could blink them away, they streamed down my cheeks.

“Oh my god! Clare? Clare, are you alright?”

I could not look at her. I knew she would see the fear written all over my face and then I would feel even worse. I don't even know why I was so scared. I mean, I totally trust Summer. I know she would never do anything to harm me. But, to my total displeasure, I could feel the bile rising in my throat. And then I puked. I was back to being Tara (meaning my child form) before I could even see where it landed.

“Clare, I am so sorry. I will never do anything like that again.”

I went to the wash room without responding, still trying to recover from my experience. I washed out my mouth and wiped off my arm. When I went back to the bedroom, Summer was sitting on the bed, staring off into the distance, clearly distressed.

On impulse, I thrust myself at her, knocking her onto her back. I kissed her, long and hard. Before I knew it, I was on my back with her over me (I was at quite the disadvantage, being small and all), as we continued kissing. My kiss was instinctual and lustful, while hers was probing, as if she were trying to figure out how I was feeling just by kissing me. Finally she broke away and flopped over, so that she was laying beside me.

“What was that for?” she asked, tentatively.

“I wanted to make sure that your lips were still my third favorite part of your body.”

“And are they?”

“Of course.” She was clearly relieved.

After that not much happened, at least not anything interesting.

September 3rd

School began today and at the start of the day, Summer made her way to orientation. I, on the other hand, found the suite that I (or really the four students) would be living in. I, of course, did not get a big portion of the suite, but the room I got was more than I could ask for under normal circumstances.

The layout was a simple one. The from the hall one stepped into a common room, which was spacious and open. There were couches and tables, a place for more than one person to gather in a relaxing separation. No one needed to be overly close to anyone else unless the room had thirty people in it. The room itself was square, and on each wall, other than the one that led to the hall, there were two doors.

The doors in the walls perpendicular to the hallway wall led to four separate bedrooms, each in itself quite large. Those rooms were well furnished, containing a large bed, plenty of dresser space, two desks for doing school work, and their own assortment of couches and chairs, all fitting with plenty of room to spare.

The wall parallel to the hallway wall had a door that led to the suite's private bath and a door that led to the kitchen and dining area. My room was behind the kitchen.

While Summer and the suite's other occupants were at the orientation I became acquainted with the room's layout and unpacked my belongings. Few as they were there were still more that belonged to me than when I wrote in May.

After waiting for about an hour, the first occupant arrived. To my dismay it was not Summer. The shortish girl (in comparison to Summer) wore a bright smile that shown all the way in her green eyes. Her long hair swung from side to side as she scurried into the room. Upon her arrival I bowed. “Welcome, milady, to the University of Silmonta,” I recited as I was told to. “I, Tara, shall be taking care of your needs as long as you remain here. Do come to me for everything.”

She curtseyed in response. “Thanks so much. My name is Melanie. Let us get along.”

“Of course. Now, Lady Melanie, would you like me to show you around or are you good on your own?”

“I should be fine, thank you.”
I bowed again. “You may choose whatever room you wish, being the first one here and all. I will get your bags into the one you choose.”

She rushed off to examine each room when the next girl arrived. Again, it was not Summer. The girl, Selena, was a black haired girl with icy colored eyes. She is about as tall as Summer. She is also very quiet. I repeated my lines and she also chose to find her way around.

The third girl was Summer, and she squealed when she saw me. I had trouble keeping from laughing. Melanie rushed out to see what was the matter. “What's going on?”

Summer was a quick thinker, luckily. “This is just awesome. I love the look of this place and I can't believe I am actually going here.”

Melanie nodded in agreement. “The name is Melanie. You can call me Mel.”

“Summer.”

Melanie leaped forward and wrapped Summer into an embrace. “Oh, we are going to be roommates. This is so exciting.”

“Y-yes. It will be great.” Melanie released her and bounced away to her room.

Summer knelt down and hugged me tight. “So this is what you meant when you said you would be close by. Ingenious. What does it entail?”

I shrugged. “I am basically you four's personal servant. I do whatever you need me to do or arrange for someone else to do it.”

Summer frowned slightly. “That means for all of us, though. What will you do if one of them ask you to bath them or something?”

I sighed. “I will do my job and think only of you the whole time.”

“Well as long as it does not lead you away from me...” She shrugged. I gave her a quick peck on the cheek before she rose to find her room. “You will make special visits to my room, won't you?”

“Of course. Of course.” I grinned up at her (do recall that I was in Tara mode, so it was quite the distance).

She walked off as the final girl arrived. The girl, Francesca, is surprisingly close to my own height. In fact, she is only like six inches taller than my own 3'10''. She also had a very child like complexion that was only nixed by her cold eyes, that could only have come from many years of experience of torment and pain.

She strutted right up to me. “You the servant?”

I nodded, slightly afraid to speak.

“Good.” She walked passed me and headed straight for the bath. “Follow me,” she commanded.

“Um... Milady, that way leads to the bath. The bed rooms are over there.”

She did not stop. “This building was designed by Larando. Of course this way leads to the bath. I have had a long morning and am very sore. Nothing is going to happen today other than that orientation assembly, so I have plenty of time. Besides the earlier I do this, the more relaxed I will be for the rest of the day.”

I shrugged and followed after her. The bath was kept warm at all times and there was a newly designed system that filtered the water to keep it clean. Francesca stopped before the water and turned to me. “Remove my clothes.”

I did as I was told, making sure not to let my eyes linger. I could not help but notice that she had many scars all over her body. I placed the clothes on hangers away from the water as she stepped into the bath. She gave a tiny gasp of pleasure. Then she called me over. I was forced to go into the water in all of my clothes, although I did remove my shoes.

She had me scrub her down and then massage her shoulders and neck. She was soon joined by Summer who I suspect only came to keep an eye on me, and later Melanie. I washed each of them, too. Selena never showed herself. They each dismissed their need of my services and just relaxed in the warm water.

I, myself, exited the water and found a side closet that held towels, bath robes, soaps, and thankfully, a dozen extra uniforms for myself. I changed into one and hung my wet one up to dry. I left the bath and found my way to Selena's room. I knocked softly on the door.

She answered quick enough. “What is it?”

“I was just wondering if there was anything you needed.”

“No.”

“Of course. My apologies for disturbing you.”With that I left her alone. I returned to the bath where the three had collectively decided to get out at that time. I dried off Francesca because I could reach all of her and left the other two to their own drying. Although, I did take the time to comb each of their hair. Then they all split up to go to their own rooms and Summer requested my “assistance”.

I followed her into her room where she shut and locked the door. I grew back to normal and now that I think about it, I don't recall feeling faint. We wrapped ourselves together in a hug. “You had me all worried that I would never see you,” she breathed.

“Now, would I do that to you?”

She laughed. “No. I guess not.” She pushed me down onto the bed and we kissed. We were just getting started when there was a knock on her door.

“What is it?” she called.

“I was wondering if you wanted to join me and either of the other two in getting to know each,” Melanie called back. “We are going to be roommates, so we should know each other if we want to get along.”

“Um... sure. Give me a second and I will join you.”

We could hear her squeal with joy. “Okay. I will get the others to join us.”

“So much for this. Come by tonight some time and we can continue.”

“I'll be there.”

I shrunk back down and Summer straightened out my clothes. Then I followed her out to the couches. She sat down and I remained standing, as was expected of me. Francesca soon joined and then, although I have no idea how Melanie managed it, so did Selena. Melanie also joined, of course. Each of the girls sat on their own couch and I stood in the background.

Melanie started by saying, “Okay, so I already told you that I want to get to know you guys, so I will start. My name is Melanie Thunrth. I am from this country but further south in a town called Hadjin. I am easy going about most everything but I do not like when people lie. I hope we all get along.”

She nodded to Summer. “Well, my name is Summer Coltaire n Keuyf. I am from Brutintuf. And I am basically easy going, I guess. I also hope we get along.”

Francesca was next. “Francesca Yinouth. I have been almost everywhere in the world and consider no one place my home. I am not easy going and I do not care if we get along or not.”

And then Selena. “Selena Reameomorista. I am from this city. I do not have time to get close to any of you.”

Melanie looked slightly taken aback by the final two's answers. Selena stood. “Are we done?”

“There is one more person here,” Melanie replied. Selena grumbled and sat back down. The rest of us looked for who Melanie was talking about before finally realizing she meant me.

“I would not wish to bore you with details about myself,” I managed to get out.

“Nonsense. You are the one we really should be getting to know, seeing as you are the one we will deal with most. Please, come share.”

I came to stand by Summer's couch. “Um... My name is Tara Omn Ranhrado.” All four flinched at the mention of my name. “Is something the matter?”

Melanie spoke first. “I told you I hate lying. What are you lying about?”

“I, um, well...”

“You have only spoken your name. What part of it is a lie?”

“My name is Clare. The rest is the truth.” Both Summer and I were sweating beads the size of pearls.

“Are you not a child?” That was Selena.

“My God. I can't get anything past you people.” Melanie gasped when I grew back to normal size. “This is my true height.”

“Oh, that is so cool. So why do you go around small?” Melanie asked.

“I am on the run from the Royal family of Brutintuf.”

“What for?” Selena had finally become interested.

“They think I kidnapped her,” I said pointing to Summer.

Summer to my surprise burst out laughing. “And it is so ridiculous. I mean, I ran away, and just because you were with me does not mean you kidnapped me. For crying out loud, you were my bodyguard.”

Francesca cut in. “And who are you that the Royal family wants you back?”

“I am the girl supposed to marry Prince Donald.”

“So the king's niece?” Selena asked. Summer and I both nodded.

“Oooh. That's cool too. You guys are pretty awesome.”

The conversation died a little after that, but we all seemed a little closer. Although I still have to keep up my charade in public, it will not be necessary within the suite.

Also note to self:

Melanie can tell when I am lying.

Need to figure out what Selena and Francesca do. They both seem very knowledgeable. And neither of them was flinching at my lying, so they clearly knew what my name meant. But how?

September 9th

The 4th was when classes started for the four. They were put in the suite together because they all had the same schedule. It was set up so that I would have an easy time serving all of them. The day started early. I fetched a woman named Melissa who did the cooking for the four. While she was there I was forced to stay in Tara mode, inconveniencing as it was. Francesca took the opportunity to flaunt the fact that she was not the shortest. She forced me to dress her and smiled evilly the whole time. Summer came to my aid, capturing me for her own needs. Selena stayed in her room and did everything herself, not at all a surprise to me. Melanie danced around, never really asking for help, but occasionally pausing to tell me how cute I was, to which I scowled in reply.

The girls ate together, all except Selena, whom I brought a plate to in her room, where she was buried in a book. She thanked me, but was the only interaction between us. I returned to the table and Summer told me to join in the meal, while neither of the other two objected to. I have a feeling that they had accepted me as one of them that is just acting like a servant, or something like that. One can hope.

After eating, I cleared and they gathered what they deemed necessary for a days classes. We set out after that to the Room of Home, or a class for getting news of the days event and the taking of attendance. That was a short visitation and we were soon headed off to linguistics, something I could learn from if I wanted to make this journal better, but whatever. I was, throughout each class, required to stand in the back and was only allowed to participate in any activity if requested to by any of the girls. There was thankfully a door at the back that allowed me to leave for small periods if I needed to say go to the privy or on a walk or something. Mainly I just paid attention to the lectures because the information could easily be useful in the future and plus a lot of it I understood.

From linguistics we moved on to arithmetic/algebra , which would start as a simplistic numbers refresher and then develop into a course that taught systematic equations that would solve a certain type of problem no matter how the variables changed, or something like that. That was the explanation that Summer gave me, but none of it made any sense to me. Clearly numbers are not my thing.

From there we went to history, which does not require much explanation, I hope. I think I will enjoy listening to those lectures. According to the teacher, history repeats itself, and if we do not learn from it, we will fall prey to the same things our ancestors did.

Etiquette class was next. Hmm... that would be a tough class for me. I am so glad I am not part of the upper class, sometimes. So many things were taught in that class I can not even begin to list it all, and it was only the first day. The class includes manners, gracefulness, proper procedure, and so much more.

We got a break after that, where the girls went to the library to self study or chill. Lunch followed that and then the final class was literature. A lot of that class was spent in silence as the students read a series of different works. When the day finally ended, I was glad to return to the suite. Selena retreated to her room, Francesca said she wanted to take a relaxing bath, but one that did not require my services, and Melanie said she would leave me and Summer alone.

We slipped into her room and sat together on the bed for a while. “So, what do you think?” I asked.

“It is nice to be back to something I recognize. I am sorry that you are forced to be a servant.”

“It is nothing, if I get to stay with you. I would do anything to stay with you.”

“As would I. Anything.”

We remained quiet, just savoring the chance to be together. I fell asleep on her shoulder and did not wake until I had to find Melissa to make us a meal. The girls dispersed to go to sleep as did I. And then the schedule repeated. The only thing that kept it from being a bore was that the classes were always different and Tuesdays and Thursdays we had half off and on those days the girls were allowed to roam free and do as they wished.

I got to know each of the girls in a different way. Not exactly to my surprise, Melanie was the first of the three I have gotten to know.

Melanie:

It was September 5th when she decided she could not hold in her curiosity. Everyone else was still sleeping early in the morning when she got up. I had been sitting on one of the couches, enjoying a cup of tea, when she came out of her room.

She sat down on the couch opposite my own and watched me in silence for a time. But eventually she got too fidgety. “What's the matter?” I asked.

“Oh. I was just wondering how small you could get or how big.”

“Hm... well I can get quite small and very big.”

“Can you show me?” She was practically jumping up and down on her seat.

I sighed. “I can show you what is like for me to be big, but do you really want to see it?” She was nodding frantically. I shrugged. “Whatever.” I did not grow, myself, but a I made her shrink instead. When she was down to about two feet tall I paused. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. This is so cool!” I brought her down to about six inches and refused to go further. She was still on the couch, so I went over and moved her gently to the table in front of mine.

“So, what do you think?”

“It's a little disorienting, to say the least. Everything is so big. 'course you probably know all about it.”

“And more.”

“Can I get a closer look at you?”

Again I shrugged. I placed my hand on the table palm up. She climbed on and stood in the middle. “I would sit down if I were you.” She did as I advised. When she was seated I brought my hand up to my face. She looked me over and then motioned for me to move my hand closer. I shook my head in wonder and moved my hand up next to my face.

She ran her hands over my skin, feeling the smooth feel and the warmth that I knew so well. She crouched down a little and put her hand on my lip. I jerked my hand away too fast, causing her to fall. “I'm sorry. I had a bad experience with lips, so...” I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

She changed the subject. “So how long have you and Summer been together?”

“About five months.”

“You guys close?”

“More than you could ever imagine.”

“Oh, I have a decent idea of what it is to be close to someone else. I fell in love once. He was quite the charmer, but midway through our relationship my gift began to develop. I could tell that he was lying, but when I told everyone else, no one believed me. Eventually it got to the point where hearing someone lie hurt.

“My parents did not like my gift. They could not keep anything from me and it bugged them. That is why they sent me here.”

“I am sorry. When my mother died, my father abandoned me because he did not like my gift. I was eight.”

“Oh my God. Well, you got me beat. Man, I thought I had it bad.”

“Yes. But I have Summer. And I will never leave her side.”

“I believe you. And I think she will do everything in her power to keep you there, at her side. You guys are well matched.”

Francesca came out of her room yawning. “What are you guys doing?” She glanced over at us. “Oh my God, you shrank her.”

I lost control of keeping Melanie small and she was all of a sudden normal on top of me as I sat on the couch. “She wanted me to,” I stammered in my own defense. She got off of me and skipped over to Francesca.

“You should really try it,” she said, patting the little girl on the head. “It is pretty fun.”

“I'll pass.”

Selena:

It was the night of the 6th, when I got the opportunity to speak with Selena alone. Earlier that day I had walked in on her reading in her room. Her eyes, normally a cool silverish-blue were a glowing light blue. They zipped back and forth as she read the book in hand. When I put the plate of food on the table she looked up and her eyes were no longer glowing. I pretended not to have noticed her eyes and just left.

That night I was sneaking (at only nine inches tall) to Summer's room to surprise her. Selena's door opened and she tiptoed to the bath. Curiosity caught me in its grasp and I just had to follow. She had stripped and was entering the water when I slipped under the door. I walked to the edge and rolled up my pants, sitting then with my legs dangling over the edge. I grew back to normal, doing so carefully as to not get my clothes wet. When Selena saw me she jumped, but there was no scream.

“What are you doing?!”

I shrugged. “I could ask you the same thing, sneaking in here late at night.”

It was her turn to shrug. It surprised me how easily she controlled her expression. Once the initial shock was gone she was quite collected. “I am introverted. I would far prefer to bath by myself. In fact, I would prefer that you leave.”

“Now, now. That's no way to get to know someone. You will never learn anything about people if you do not interact with them. You can read all the books you want and remember all of them, but you will never understand anything if you do not experience it for yourself.”

“How did you find out?”

“Find out what?”

“My... nevermind.”

“Oh, you me that your gift has to do with memory. That's pretty cool. Does it happen when your eyes glow blue?”

That startled her. “Yeah, anything I read, hear, or see I remember. I can't help it.”

“Do you get an urge to find out more information?”

“Yes. It is like a hunger that I can not get rid of. I need to learn more.”

“You don't really need to. If you find something that can distract you, you would be able to keep away for the books. It is like an addiction you just have to break. Try interaction. Summer and Melanie and even Francesca are interesting to be around. You could probably stop if you just get out of your room more. Give it a try at least.”

“I promise to give it a try.”

“Good. Would you like me to wash your back?”

She nodded. I grabbed a wash cloth and got to work. After a few minutes I could feel her muscles relax and smiled. We did not talk for the rest of the time, but I think she will break away from the books soon. I will keep pushing and supporting her.

Francesca:

By the time I got to know Francesca, we had already been at the school for almost a week. It was the 8th, which was a Saturday. Francesca wished to meet someone later that day and asked me to escort her. Summer and Melanie said they could take care of themselves and Selena was still nowhere to be seen. When I agreed, she told me it was not in the school and to put on something other than my servant outfit. I chose my ICA uniform, in case I had a need to change size. Francesca had not been very specific about what we would be doing, so better safe than sorry.

Turns out it was a good choice because before we left she had me become six foot three, about 125% my normal height, not that that is a problem. Then she whipped a mask out of nowhere and told me to put it on. Shrugging, I did as I was told. We left the school with no one recognizing me, but all wondering who the mysterious figure was that was with Francesca.

We headed into the city. I followed like a lost puppy as Francesca walked with such purpose. She led the way to a little shop on a side street. The shop was filled with books and looked less like a shop than it did a collection. Nobody else was looking about, and the man at the counter looked down from his perch at Francesca and myself. “Whatchu want?” he asked.

Francesca glared at him. “I am here to see Kathryn.”

“And you?” he asked me.

“I'm just with her.”

“Well Kathryn is not in right now. If you come back later, maybe you will get luckier.”

“Actually,” someone said from behind me, “I am right here.”

I was about to whirl around to face her but Francesca stopped me. “Stay facing that way for now,” she commanded. To the woman she said, “good to see you, Kat. What's it been? Six years?”

“About that. You come to take the shop back?”

“No. I am here to introduce you to my friend here.”

“Well then. Let's head to the back room, shall we.”

The woman walked passed me and led the way to the back, where she opened a door to a new room. She went in first, then Francesca, and finally me. I shut the door behind me. The woman turned and I about had a heart attack. “Mom?!”

She looked taken aback. Francesca spoke up. “I was right. Your mother was Rosemarie. When I heard your name, Omn Ranhrado, I knew you were her child.” She turned to Kathryn. “This is your niece, just so you know.”

“Really? Clare, right? Mind taking off the mask?”

I looked to Francesca and she shrugged. I took that as a yes, slowly pulling the mask off. Kat gasped when she saw my face. “You look just like her.”

I laughed as a tear ran down my cheek. “You look exactly like her.”

“We were twins. But I did not me in terms of looks so much as expression. The pureness of her soul that shown through her eyes. Her innocent view of the world and naive idea of what goes on in this world. Of course you are clearly not as naïve but your eyes shine just as hers did. Can you smile for me so I can see her happiness in you?”

“I will try to smile for you, but not right now. I'm sorry, but I can't.”
“No worries. I understand. It must have been hard to loose her.”

“Very. Now could you answer me a question?”

“Of course.”

“You said you were her twin, so why do you look like you stepped straight out of my memories of ten years ago?”

Kat flinched. She glanced down at Francesca. I followed her gaze and saw Francesca shrug. “She will find out sooner or later.” She addressed me. “How old would you say I look?”

“Twelve,” I answered, hoping I was close enough to not be offensive. I wasn't close at all.

“Well, I am actually 1458, as of three days ago. But I have the blasted body of a child. And Kat, here, she takes the gift of anyone she comes in contact with. She touched me ten years ago, the day of your mother's death. It was the day that she agreed to join my war. I will make her the perfect weapon, gather her the greatest skills until she is unstoppable, and then I will take down the leaders of this world.”

That was a little much to take in. “What?!”

This is basically what she told me after that, minus my questions and responses because they make me sound like a retard and it will go smoother to just write her side. According to her, there a bunch of people, all of whom have some variation of immortality. They make up the world government, which, unbeknownst to the whole world, works together in a corrupt system. They plan to enslave the rest of humanity and keep with them only a few soldiers to keep everyone else in line. The immortals who disagreed were killed, all but Francesca, as far as she knows. So she is trying to gather an army that she can use to set the world right, basically.

She also told me that my mother had discovered the truth and was killed because she was considered a threat to the plan. Her death convinced Kat to join and it leaves me with a decision to make. Do I join, too? Do I put Summer in danger by committing myself to a war against all the leaders of the world? I don't know just yet.

After saying goodbye, we returned to the school where I curled up with Summer in her room. I have yet to tell her anything.