Perhaps the most surprising thing that struck Eva when she awoke was indeed the fact that she had awoken at all. 

The scene remained freshly emblazoned in her mind. An instant of agonizing pressure rendered in gruesome detail as Tina’s socked foot all but swallowed her with the weight of the weighted plate crashing against it. A clash of equally massive, impossibly heavy titans with Eva’s small self at the epicenter. A battle that somehow surpassed every indignity that had been done to her. That threatened to drive Eva mad in mere moments. And then...

Nothing.

Had she died? Had the great Eva Rhodes met her end and popped like a grape underfoot? No, of course not. The very idea was absurd. Ghosts didn’t get sore, and she ached all over. Her eyes remained shut and her body still, but she was very much awake and aware of how heavy she felt. As well as the oddly soothing caress of something wet all across her body. A pool? Too shallow to be a deep one if so, but the liquid acted as something of a salve for Eva’s gnawing body. It wasn’t anything impressive, but it was the most peace Eva had known in quite some time. 

For the first time in...perhaps two weeks now, there was no Tina to constantly belittle her. No scheming to try and escape or one-up the situation. Simply a woman laying down and allowed to rest. A rare chance to reflect on what had happened; what had been happening for days now. Where it all went wrong and where it would go. For a woman who could so vividly remember the visceral terror of being at Tina’s whimsy in that accursed gym, now that the adrenaline had died down and she could process it logically she kept a surprisingly level head. 

She had done it again, she realized. Once more in the heat of the moment her actions failed her. There were ample opportunities for freedom and she took almost none of them, instead finding rationalizations to not do it. Why? Eva knew what she wanted, yet time after time these moments kept happening. Stretches of time where she was, perish the thought, obedient.

It had been her longest episode yet. There were times, yes, where Tina’s games wore her down and the raven-haired woman found herself saying and doing the unspeakable just to make it stop. Only ever for minutes at a time. Micro-incidents. This time though...This time was different. 

Tina had offered no demeaning commands. There was no threat of punishment or even any real words at all. She didn’t make Eva do anything. Everything that she did had been her own choice made in the heat of the moment. When push came to shove and Eva had to choose between freedom and Tina - She hesitated. Any number of excuses for it came to mind as Eva dwelled on it. A delirium brought about from heat and dehydration. A frantic desperation after being pulverized more than any person could reasonably endure. Valid reasons, but ultimately still excuses. Whatever word she wanted to use didn’t matter; it happened. 

I can’t keep this up. 

Her sobering realization. An admission really. The very notion made Eva shudder. This was the truth, however. Each new day brought with it something awful courtesy of Tina’s whimsy. There was always a fresh game or new torment ready to erode at Eva’s foundations; the very same torments that served to bolster her captor. Tina was fast adjusting to this newfound power she had and, frighteningly enough, Eva appeared to be adjusting to a lack of it. Did her words have any weight when push came to shove and she did whatever Tina asked? Did her thoughts matter when she only had them after the fact?

How long could this go on? She survived this latest trial, but what of the next time Tina decided to push the boundary just that little bit further? At what point did she finally crush Eva and couldn’t pick the pieces back up? When the dust settled and what remained was broken, either in body or spirit.

If she could survive the full weight of a leg press, she couldn’t imagine anything else Tina could ever do that would kill her. No matter, it seemed the body would survive. The same could not be said for her mind. Every stomp and teasing comment added up, and there would come a day when the giant would stare down at her and give a command...And Eva would simply obey. That would be the day she died, leaving behind nothing but a servile pet with her face. 

It was terrifyingly easy to imagine. Tina would be relaxing on her couch and watching one of her silly shows when a foot would come crashing down upon the table. There would be no words, only an implicit look, and that would be enough for Eva to get to work pampering her. Just imagining the satisfied smile that would spread across Tina’s face was enough to give Eva goosebumps. Not even because of what she would be doing.

But because she would like it.

Temptation remained a constant whisper in the back of her thoughts. A siren assuring Eva all she had to do was be a good girl. Give Tina what she wanted and all would be well. She deserved it after all. After all the horrible things Eva had done to her, why shouldn’t she be entitled to a personal plaything? She was only mean because Eva was being a bad pet. The voice was a wicked temptress, growing in strength by the day; and once Eva surrendered to it there would be no going back.

Tina was not some kind of mythical creature. She wasn’t even a particularly cruel person. Logically, Eva could remind herself of this all she wanted. Tina was still just her former assistant, awkward habits and all. That simply wasn’t what her instincts could agree with. Tina was something...more to her. At least, that was what Eva’s mind subconscious seemed to say. Whatever that something was, not even Eva could put it to words. She only knew it inspired something in her. Something that gave the voice strength while tearing herself down.

Fear.

She was scared of Tina. That was the cold, blunt truth. The woman who was a sweet, slight, and awkward thing. Yet also an unstoppable, almighty titan. A giantess whose every footstep was an earthquake. Who spoke with thunder; and whose mood was a storm Eva could only hope to endure. Peace came when she was satisfied and disaster when she was not. She could not be talked down and to go against her was to know defeat. She was no longer a mere person, and Eva didn’t dare try to entertain what title might be more fitting for her.

Yet even so, what else could she do? She couldn’t beat her, but she also couldn’t simply give up. To surrender would be to lose herself. The one thing she had left.

It brought to mind the frustrating memory where she was clinging to Tina’s leg with freedom all around, ripe for the taking. Nobody saw her. She should’ve done something. She could’ve escaped and would’ve figured something out. Anything would’ve been better than what she had done. Should’ve. Could’ve. Would’ve. The moment had passed and the mistake couldn’t be undone now. All Eva could do was try to face the future, and hope she did better next time.

Letting out a weak groan, she finally began to test her aching body. Her arms were heavy and sore, responding at their own leisure. With some concerted effort she managed to lift herself up. Opening her eyes, the woman spied the relatively foot-deep pool of water she found herself in. Her current prison, for that is what it absolutely was, had her surrounded on all sides by walls of clear glass. Colored transparent polka dots littered it in a design, trailing up the narrow tube for thirty feet above her - a water bottle. The very same Tina had been sipping from at the gym, she realized. That explained that at least. 

Looking further past the boundaries, Eva appeared to have been sequestered atop a windowsill. The blinds of the window were drawn and light filtered in over her, basking her in a cozy warmth. Opposite the window there appeared to be a steep overhang that would’ve dropped any would-be cliff divers right into the metallic hearth of a kitchen sink. In what appeared to be the trend of Tina’s abode, it was neatly kept if not small and dense with cutesy items. In addition, she noted, it was blissfully quiet.

“Miss Tina must’ve left me here and left for that date with that woman.” Eva theorized aloud.

As soon as she had said it, she caught the title and smiled ruefully. Miss Tina. What an innocuous but insidiously telling thing. In the early days Eva fought relentlessly to avoid ever giving that woman anything resembling a respectful title. Now it had a way of slipping out so easily. It was just more efficient, sparing the smaller woman unnecessary punishment in lieu of a bit of lip service. She told herself as much, and yet even in the times when her owner wasn’t around, the title still tended to slip out more often than not. That was the danger of it. 

Still, she could appreciate the consideration in her owner giving her some water at least. Perhaps the giant’s way of apologizing. It was rather easy to envision Tina pulling Eva’s limp body from the depths of her shoe, openly panicking once Eva didn’t move; and yet she also unable to draw attention to her. So in a desperate move she hid the woman somewhere on hand, and later on laid her somewhere she could rest. An amusing series of events to imagine. Perhaps not even that far from the truth. With a wry chuckle Eva leaned back into the smooth basin beneath her, the water pleasantly warm in the window’s light. 

As ever, the so-called Miss Tina was a puzzling creature. A walking contradiction that Eva simply couldn’t fathom. It would’ve been so much simpler to grasp if Tina was always either the kindhearted dweeb or the vindictive bitch. That much Eva could at least understand, but Tina was both. In the same breath that she would stutter out her words in public, her foot would be twisting upon the tiny figure squirming in her shoe. At first that was how Eva was so certain Tina was a chameleon tricking those around her. Now though...Even she had to admit that wasn’t true at all. 

Everything about this giant’s home painted the clear image of a woman with a passion for all things atypical and nerdy. A shut-in who left only when she had purpose and who otherwise kept to herself. Even her athletic figure and impressive exercise routine fit neatly into place when viewed as a means of coping with life’s many stresses. It all told a consistent story. Tina was a woman who liked cute, colorful things and spending her time playing games or watching cartoons. She stumbled over her words and disliked praise. She was also the woman who orchestrated all this, and who had no problem punishing those who had wronged her when pushed too far.

Why? When asking that, Eva couldn’t help but recall one of the giant’s favorite demeaning things to say. You aren’t a person. A simple statement, but it really did seem like the answer to the paradox. Tina was an awkward, kind girl - to people. To those who were subhuman in her eyes she knew no mercy. Only the difference between a schoolyard bully and Eva was, by her rough estimate, an average of about five and a half feet. A person large enough to step on Tina’s glasses or mock her could be yelled at or reprimanded, but it was only a bug of a woman who was truly at her absolute mercy. 

Was she even conscious of it? Tina made claims of standing up to bullies and protecting the little man as it were, but there seemed to be more to it with this. Why all this? Because she enjoyed owning a little pet? She enjoyed a sense of power her day-to-day life didn't provide? Eva could only speculate; not that it honestly mattered. Yes, she could try to peel away the layers of the woman who would toy with her, but that didn’t change the fact she was being toyed with. No, it was for the best that Eva gathered her strength for when the giant invariably returned. 

Whether Tina was kind or not, whether she was in this for the right reasons or not. Ultimately, it didn’t change a damn thing. Eva was shrunken and Tina didn’t seem inclined to ever change that. Which brought her to that constant question at the forefront of her thoughts.

What could she do?

The giant had made her wishes known from the onset and had done a good job of working towards them. She had all the cards, all the tools, and all the power. Even if Eva were to escape, where could she go? How would she get help? Would someone else actually be somehow worse than this? The sad truth was she didn’t know. Her utter insignificance and ignorance was, as ever, immensely irritating.

“Tch.” Eva kicked a leg out and water splashed across the sides of the bottle. All this time and she still had no answers. Not even a plan.  She rolled over and cupped more of the clear liquid in her hands, splashing it over her face. It helped clear her thoughts if only a little.

The water was a godsend. Something to help ease Eva’s mind and throat. It reminded her that she hadn’t eaten in days now. How curious. It wasn’t a case of her being hungry either. Was it some sort of side effect of the reduction process? That was a bit disquieting to consider. Easy as it was to forget, she was an untested specimen. How much about her had changed that she wasn’t aware of? At least there was a small comfort that she hadn’t sprouted a third arm or exploded or whatever else could’ve happened. 

With a sigh, Eva observed her hand, flexing lithe fingers and running it across a bruised thigh. She could endure tonnes of pressure. She barely ate or drank. Her skin was clammy and dirty from a few days without a proper bath. God, she dreaded to imagine how matted and filthy her hair had to be. With so many differences...Was she even still Eva? Was she still, to borrow Tina’s favorite phrase, human?  She liked to think so, but her opinion wasn’t the one that mattered. What did a giant, who knew nothing of what this was all like, see? Did they see a shrunken woman, or some sort of lesser creature? It wasn’t that long ago Eva would’ve laughed the notion out of hand, but she tried to envision it.

If it were her in the office, minding her own business, and one day she stumbled onto Tina on the floor; a naked, defenseless little thing covered in dirt and grime. Would Eva stop to help her? Would she coo gently and offer the warm embrace of her hand? Of course not. She’d lift her heel and bring it over Tina, lips curled in disgust. She would perhaps even relish the crunch of bone underfoot. 

She would never consider such a worthless creature to be a human.

So what did that make her?

That was the key question lingering in the woman’s thoughts as she closed her eyes and tried to rest. While she had the chance, it was best to appreciate the chance to simply be left to her thoughts. Regardless of what personal conclusions she would come to, soon enough, her mistress would be back and the agony would begin anew.